20150326 RTHK 跑馬地地下蓄洪首期工程完成 可抵禦20年一遇暴雨

為紓緩跑馬地及灣仔鄰近地區的水浸風險，尤其是摩理臣山道與立德里交界，及改善灣仔區的水患問題，渠務署正進行跑馬地地下蓄洪計劃。

渠務署署長鍾錦華表示，第一期工程完成後，預計成效可抵禦20年一遇的暴雨，而整個工程正式完成後，可抵禦50年一遇的暴雨。

跑馬地地下蓄洪計劃，與上環及大坑東兩個計劃不同之處，是其有智能系統，能因應雨勢情況去調節水閘高度。因此，即使跑馬地蓄洪池的容量較小，亦能發揮到如大蓄洪池般的功效。

鍾錦華亦承認，在尋找土地興建蓄洪池上有一定困難，故現時只能在一些球場及公園的地下興建。

20150318 China Daily_Shanghai prepares for clean air

Authorities say PM2.5 remains a big problem as it outlines 100 billion yuan action plan

Woman wear face masks on the Bund in front of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower during a hazy day in downtown Shanghai January 26, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Shanghai plans to invest 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) in its environmental protection drive for the coming three years, while reducing the concentration of PM2.5 by at least 20 percent from the level in 2013.

Those are part of the targets the municipal government outlined in an action plan for the period between 2015 and 2017.

One of the highlights of the plan, released on Tuesday, is the increase of capital invested to improve the environment from the average of 21.3 billion yuan in the past 15 years to an average of 33.3 billion yuan committed for the upcoming three years.

Improvements in air quality, water and the ecology will be the focus of the plan.

Measures to fight smog, for example, include shifting the coal-burning boilers and industrial furnaces to clean fuels, transforming power generators to reduce their emissions, phasing out high-polluting vehicles and putting in place further control on dust at construction sites.

Those efforts are expected to help reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide by 20,000 metric tons nitrogen oxide by 40,000 tons and volatile organic compounds by 100,000 tons.

Yang Xin, a professor at Fudan University's department of environmental science and engineering, called the action plan practical, saying that the government is moving in the right direction to address the biggest concerns of the public regarding the environment.

"In 2014, we saw a big drop in the concentration level of PM2.5 from the previous year," he said. "That makes the goal of a 20 percent reduction by 2017 not that difficult."

A man wears a face mask while walking on the Bund in front of the financial district of Pudong, during a hazy day in downtown Shanghai January 25, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

But the government needs to do more to make the public clearly see the improvement in the environment, he said.

"Lowering PM2.5 levels by 20 percent means a huge reduction of its harm on people's health. But it won't bring along great improvement in the visibility of the air, and visibility actually is the main benchmark for the public to judge air quality," he added.

Public perception

Most Shanghai residents questioned on Tuesday said air pollution worsened in 2014, though monitoring data suggested there was an improvement of air quality compared with 2013.

"I didn't feel an improvement at all. We often saw a gray sky caused by the smog," said 24-year-old Yu Canglong.

In the action plan, authorities admitted that PM2.5 and air pollution remain prominent problems, despite the overall improving environment in the city.

For the upcoming three years, the government also vowed to reduce the number of highly polluted water bodies, raise forestation coverage from 13.5 percent to 15.5 percent, and build a sewage disposal system for 90 percent of waste water in urban areas.

On the national level, the country is set to focus efforts this year on fully implementing the revised Environmental Protection Law, which took effect on Jan 1.

No one must use his power to meddle with law enforcement, Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday at a news conference following the closing of the annual session of the nation's top legislature.

"All acts of illegal production and emissions will be brought to account. We will make the cost for doing so too high to bear," he said.

20150317 BBC_Cyclone Pam: Vanuatu 'needs food'

Vanuatu urgently needs food and relief supplies, officials said, days after Cyclone Pam caused massive damage across the Pacific nation.

Houses, schools and crops have been destroyed by the storm, which hit the islands as a category five.

So far 24 people are reported dead but this could rise. There are islands south of the capital where the situation is not yet known.

Those who have flown over the islands report widespread devastation.

Across the nation, many people have lost their homes or face extensive rebuilding. Telecommunications, power and water supplies have all been badly affected.

"We urgently need water purification tablets to make sure that the water is safe to drink," Alice Clements of Unicef told the BBC.

"We urgently need food for communities whose crops have been absolutely destroyed and will take up to three months to grow. We absolutely need shelter."

Benjamin Shing, of President Baldwin Lonsdale's office, echoed her comments.

"We are relying on the fact that the food crops and the gardens are still edible and they can be used for the first week but after [that] we'll need to get some rations on the ground," he told Australian media.

As well as crops, residents' stockpiles of food had been destroyed and wood was too wet for people to cook with, reports said.

Many houses had corrugated iron roofs that were torn off by the storm

Residents have been searching through their houses for salvageable possessions

Roads are blocked by fallen trees and debris

The storm hit Vanuatu on Saturday, bringing very high winds.

Aid is arriving from nations including Australia, New Zealand and the UK but officials say distributing supplies will take time, given damage to infrastructure and the number of islands.

"It will take days until we have a clear picture and [understand] the full extent of the damage," Kate Roux of the International Red Cross told the BBC.

In Port Vila, the capital, a clean-up is under way but the destruction was extensive. Power and water have been restored in some areas but up to 90% of homes have been damaged.

The hospital is coping with an influx of injured people but a surgeon said beds had been moved outside because of structural damage.

On the main island and in Torba and Penama provinces to the north, some 3,300 people were in evacuation shelters, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Continue reading the main story

Cyclone Pam's impact on Vanuatu

24

confirmed fatalities - as of 16 March

• 3,300 people forced to leave their homes
• 19,000 households likely to need emergency food aid based on storm's path
• 37 evacuation centres set up in Torba and Penama provinces and main island of Efate

Source: UN Ocha

Of islands to the south of the capital in the direct path of the cyclone, including Tanna - home to 29,000 people - and Erromango, much less is known.

"We have no contact of any sort with the outer islands, the priority is to get communications up and running," Joe Lowry, a spokesman for International Organisation for Migration (ILM), told Reuters news agency.

"It's very, very concerning that we haven't heard anything from the outlying islands."

Military planes that have flown over the islands have reported extensive damage to houses and crops.

"We understand that the reconnaissance imagery shows widespread devastation," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said of Tanna. "Not only buildings flattened - palm plantations, trees. It's quite a devastating sight."

The president, returning from a conference in Japan, has described the storm as a "monster" that wiped out years of development.

He has linked the disaster to climate change, citing changing weather patterns, rising seas and heavier-than-average rain in Vanuatu.

Australia announced on Tuesday that it was sending more personnel, including a search and rescue team, and three more military planes carrying aid.

How poor is Vanuatu?

• The UN considers it one of world's least developed countries. It has a GDP of $828m (£560.7m) compared to neighbouring Australia's $1.56tn, according to the World Bank
• About two-thirds of people make a living from agriculture. Fishing, tourism and offshore financial services are the other main industries
• Australia estimates that about 70% of the population of 250,000 live on remote islands or in rural areas, with few services and limited access to clean drinking water, transport or electricity
• Australia is Vanuatu's main donor, giving A$60.7m (£31.45m: $46.5) in 2013/4, about 60% of total aid