建立本港社區抗災韌性
其他相關資訊
三名海關人員在沙洲附近執行職務時沉船殉職，正在瑞士達沃斯公幹的行政長官林鄭月娥與政府高層官員同表哀悼，並向其家人致以深切慰問。 林鄭月娥表示，香港海關肩負為香港護法守關的重責，包括執行緝私、打擊販毒等危險職務。海關人員一向無畏無懼，以專業精神竭誠為市民服務。她對昨晚三名海關人員不幸殉職感到震驚和悲痛。 署理行政長官張建宗今日凌晨連同保安局局長李家超和海關關長鄧以海到醫院了解事件和慰問死者家屬。張建宗其後會見傳媒時表示，三名殉職關員兩男一女，年齡由27歲至43歲，他承諾盡一切努力協助其家屬。 他說，事件反映海關工作有一定風險，但他們執行任務時皆盡忠職守，他為此感到驕傲。 李家超對事件深感悲痛，表示政府和香港海關會全力向死者家屬提供所需支援和協助，幫助他們渡過難關。他今早會見傳媒時說，海關巡邏船因遭受撞擊而出事，當時現場漆黑一片，警方會全面和深入調查事故真相。 鄧以海表示，船上五名人員墮海後由消防和水警救起，其中兩人清醒，送往北大嶼山醫院，另外三人送往屯門醫院後證實死亡。部門已與殉職人員的家人聯絡，會盡一切努力為他們提供協助。 公務員事務局局長羅智光代表公務員隊伍向殉職關員的家屬致以最深切慰問，指公務員事務局會提供一切所需支援。 林鄭月娥、張建宗、李家超、羅智光和鄧以海對兩名在事故中受傷的人員表示慰問，希望他們早日康復。
傳染病直擊第17卷第1期 - 2020年第1至第2周 (2019年12月29日至2020年1月11日)
下 午 4 時
天 文 台 錄 得：
氣 溫 ： 20 度
相 對 濕 度 ： 百 分 之 90
過 去 一 小 時 ，
京 士 柏 錄 得 的 平 均 紫 外 線 指 數 ： 0.8
紫 外 線 強 度 ： 低
本 港 其 他 地 區 的 氣 溫 ：
天 文 台 20 度 ，
京 士 柏 19 度 ，
黃 竹 坑 20 度 ，
打 鼓 嶺 21 度 ，
流 浮 山 23 度 ，
大 埔 20 度 ，
沙 田 19 度 ，
屯 門 21 度 ，
將 軍 澳 19 度 ，
西 貢 19 度 ，
長 洲 20 度 ，
赤 鱲 角 22 度 ，
青 衣 21 度 ，
石 崗 22 度 ，
荃 灣 可 觀 21 度 ，
荃 灣 城 門 谷 21 度 ，
香 港 公 園 20 度 ，
筲 箕 灣 18 度 ，
九 龍 城 20 度 ，
跑 馬 地 20 度 ，
黃 大 仙 20 度 ，
赤 柱 19 度 ，
觀 塘 18 度 ，
深 水 埗 21 度 ，
啟 德 跑 道 公 園 19 度 ，
元 朗 公 園 22 度 ，
大 美 督 20 度 。
下 午 2 時 45 分 至 3 時 45 分 ， 各 區 錄 得 雨 量 如 下 ：
東 區 0 至 1 毫 米 ，
南 區 0 至 1 毫 米 ，
觀 塘 0 至 1 毫 米 。
2020年1月20日，大韩民国《国际卫生条例》国家归口单位报告了该国发生的首例新型冠状病毒感染病例。该病例是一名35岁中国籍女性，住在中国湖北省武汉市。
By Sophie Hares, UNDRR – Americas and the CaribbeanMenaced by increasingly violent hurricanes, Caribbean countries face an enormous bill to better protect themselves disasters and need to weave a web of financing options to help insulate against shocks, said speakers at a regional conference.
Boosting lackluster economic growth, ramping up insurance and disaster funds, and embracing the private sector would help bolster countries which needed to invest more in resilience, said speakers at the Comprehensive Disaster Management Conference (CDM11) in Sint Maarten.
"Budgeting for disaster should be a must for us all," said Silveria Jacobs, prime minister of Sint Maarten, which was ravaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017.
A common disaster fund and a joint insurance plan to protect the small businesses that drive local economies could help the region, she told the conference, organized by the Caribbean Disasters and Emergency Agency (CDEMA).
"Government cannot definitely not go it alone… Business resilience drives the economy which ensures that islands can bounce back even faster," said Jacobs, who urged more investment in resilient infrastructure.
With many countries heavily indebted, creating layers of risk financing was key if countries are to limit the economic impact of disasters, which could also include flooding, drought, tsunamis and seismic activity, said speakers.
Risk financing layers should include funds shaved from national budgets, paired with fast-paying parametric insurance and access to lines of credit, said Ming Zhang, World Bank regional practice manager for urban and disaster risk management.
While new insurance products could help protect livelihoods and the fishing industry in the event of disasters, there was more scope to expand insurance to include households and small businesses, said Zhang in an interview.
"You cannot set up a contingency fund to address a Category 5 hurricane," said Zhang, who estimates disasters cost the Caribbean 1 percent of its gross domestic product each year.
"You need a risk financing strategy… each country should look at different layers and different contingencies, insurance and other mechanisms."
While countries such as St. Lucia and Grenada were looking to set up disaster funds bolstered by lines of credit, there needs to be more focus on how money was being spent in the region to better prepare for disasters, he said.
More advanced recovery planning was needed to make sure emergency shelters and supplies were available, while strengthening homes and infrastructure could help reduce economic impact down the track, he said.
"In the midst of borrowing for public investment, governments need to ensure that these funds are certainly being spent to ensure resilience," said Ronald Jackson, CDEMA executive director, said in an interview.
"That's one area that will drive down exposure and be a lower cost to government when these events occur."
NO SILVER BULLET
Emergency cash payments to small businesses, farmers and the most vulnerable after hurricanes in Barbados and Dominica helped stimulate the local economies and get people back on their feet, said speakers.
But countries needed to ensure adequate systems were in place to disperse social protection payments to make sure they reach the right people as quickly as possible, they added.
"No single financial instrument is the solution, we have to adopt a risk layering approach," Nicholas Grainger, programme associate at the World Food Programme, told the conference.
Given the private sector shells out for up to 85 percent of all investment and absorbs the lion's share of disaster losses, businesses should be closer involved in trying to driving down risk and promoting economic resilience, said speakers.
"It's very clear that reducing disaster risk cannot be done by one actor or sector alone," Nahuel Arenas, Deputy Chief of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, told the conference.
"Resilient investment is about integrating risk through business practices and investment decisions."
The UNDRR-backed business network, known as The Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies or ARISE, is growing quickly in the Caribbean where companies are increasingly aware that disaster risk reduction (DRR) makes sound business sense, said speakers.
Jeffrey Beckles, chief executive of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, said the private sector wanted a greater role in DRR given it was a major employer and driver of growth.
It also has a lot to lose. Businesses suffered some 90 percent of the massive losses in the Bahamas caused by Hurricane Dorian in September, he added.
"We bring to the table the ability to look further down the road than any single administration," Beckles told the conference.
"We bring to the table a much deeper, wider capacity for casting a longer-term strategy for resiliency and prospects for our country's stability,"
Developing the digital and blue economies, while finding ways to expand the benefits of industries such as tourism could help bolster the region's economy and ultimately make households more resilient, said speakers.
"Resilient people build resilient lives, and resilient communities and economies," said Sint Maarten's Jacobs.
Related links
https://www.cdema.org/cdm11/
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/caribbean
https://cdema.org/
https://www.wfp.org/
https://www.thebahamaschamber.com/
