XN000022-1989-05-15 — Page 3

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MONDAY, MAY 15, 1989

"WITH SO MANY PEOPLE COMING IT'S QUITE OBVIOUS THAT ACCOMMODATE EVERYBODY IN IDEAL CONDITIONS.

"WITH SO MANY PEOPLE COMING WE HAVE A SERIOUS HANDS, HE SAID.

WE CANNOT

PROBLEN ON OUR

PUT THEM. THERE IS QUITE

ΤΟ WRONG POLICY IN ORDER TO

"IT'S HOT GOING TO BE EASY TO FIND PLACES TO

BUT IT POSITIONS. IS BOUND TO BE MORE CRAMPED

OF ACT

ASSUME THAT WE DO THIS AS A DELIBERATE INFLUENCE PEOPLE IN GENEVA.

"WE'RE FACING A VERY REAL

PRACTICAL

PROBLEM, AND THOSE WHO

ASSUME THAT WE'RE DOING IT FOR SOME OTHER MOTIVES ARE TOTALLY WRONG.

"WE FACE A PRACTICAL

PROBLEM. WE NEED ΤΟ

FIND

PRACTICAL

14

ANSWERS TO IT. SIR DAVID ADDED.

ADVICE TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST RAINSTORMS AND TYPHOONS

* * *

SHAM. TODAY

THE DIRECTOR OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, MR PATRICK (MONDAY) ADVISED THE PUBLIC ΤΟ TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS AGAINST RAINSTORMS AND TYPHOONS IN THE COMING MONTHS.

MR SHAM GAVE THIS ADVICE DURING A MEET-THE-MEDIA AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY HEADQUARTERS.

REITERATING THE POSSIBILITY LIKELY TO BE ABOVE NORMAL, HE SAID: PREDICTING ANNUAL RAINFALL SEEM TO TOTAL RAINFALL THIS YEAR OF 10 то RAINFALL OF 2,224.7 MILLIMETRES.

SESSION HELD

THAT THIS YEAR'S RAINFALL WAS "THE VARIOUS METHODS WE USE FOR BE CONSISTENTLY INDICATIVE OF A 30 PER CENT ABOVE THE AVERAGE

'EARLIER THIS MONTH WE ALREADY HAD SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS, AND ON MAY 2 WE HAD OVER 200 MILLIMETRES OF RAINFALL WITHIN A PERIOD OF FOUR HOURS IN SOME LOCALISED AREAS IN EAST KOWLOON AND IN SOME PARTS IN HONG KONG CENTRAL.

++

'SEASONALLY, JUNE IS THE MONTH WITH THE HIGHEST RAINFALL AND WE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST SITUATIONS WHERE HEAVY AND PROLONGED RAINFALL IN JUNE CAUSED WIDESPREAD FLOODING AND LANDSLIPS, HE ADDED.

MR SHAM SAID IT WAS DIFFICULT TO PREDICT THE NUMBER OF TROPICAL CYCLONES WHICH WOULD AFFECT THE TERRITORY THIS YEAR.

HAVE THE CYCLONES COULD BE

NEVERTHELESS, HE SAID IF HONG KONG WERE GOING то EXPECTED RAINFALL THIS YEAR, AND SINCE ON AVERAGE TROPICAL CONTRIBUTED ΤΟ ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE YEAR'S RAINFALL, IT DEDUCED THAT THE NUMBER OF TROPICAL CYCLONES THREATENING HONG KONG WOULD BE SLIGHTLY LARGER THIS YEAR THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS.

"I AM