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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
587
(4) Mr. Daniel To Boon-man asked (in Cantonese):—'Regarding matters such as facilities, environmental hygiene and safety at the Council's beaches. I have the following questions:
(i) Some shark prevention nets at the Council's beaches were torn and damaged by large waves last month:
(a) The Department is requested to give an account of the repair work of the shark prevention nets.
(b) Has the Department publicized the condition of the restored shark prevention nets to ease the worries of members of the public?
(ii) During rainstorms, stormwater would carry litter and silt left on the roads into the surroundings of the Council's beaches and pollute the water quality at the beaches. Has the Department considered making improvements to the situation? Has the Department requested the Drainage Services Department (DSD) to improve the stormwater drainage system in order to maintain good water quality at the beaches?
(iii) When typhoon signal number 8 was hoisted recently, numerous citizens flocked to the beaches in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island to watch waves. Some citizens even risked going into the water in pursuit of excitement. For public safety reasons, what measures, apart from routine work, are taken by the Department to prevent accidents? How can we prevent citizens who are not good at swimming from taking the risk to go into the water? How can we give appropriate guidance to surfers for the sake of their safety?"
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE (REC S/C), replied (in Cantonese):—Mr. To's question is in 3 parts. The first part asks about the repair work of the shark prevention nets at the Council's beaches which were torn and damaged by large waves last month. It also asks whether the Department has publicized the conditions of the restored nets after the repair work was completed.
After Hong Kong was hit by typhoon ‘Leo' on 2 May 1999 (Sunday), the Department found that the shark prevention nets at 5 beaches, including Big Wave Bay, Shek O, Hair Pin Beach, Stanley Main Beach and Turtle Cove, were torn and damaged by the large waves. It immediately called the shark prevention net maintenance and repair contractor for emergency repair. The shark prevention nets at Stanley Main Beach and Turtle Cove only sustained slight damage and the repair work was completed on 5 May. As for the nets at Big Wave Bay, Shek O and Hair Pin Beach, the repair work took a longer period to complete as the damage was more serious and the contractor had to remove the damaged parts for repair. The repair work for the nets of these 3 beaches was completed on 8 May, 12 May and 15 May 1999 respectively.
After the staff of the beaches concerned discovered that the shark prevention nets were damaged by strong winds and large waves, warning notices were immediately displayed at prominent places at the beaches to inform swimmers
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