5.
He said that the leaflet formed part of a longer term public education programme to enhance residents' awareness of how to deal with emergencies and natural disasters.
Other activities to promote this objective will be worked out by a newly created Emergency Support Unit (ESU) under the Security Branch.
Formed by internal deployment, the unit is also responsible for co-ordinating contingency plans within Government departments, providing support to the Government's emergency response system and organising training for staff required to take up duties in emergency management.
In the meantime, the former Government Secretariat Emergency Co-ordination Centre is renamed the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) from today in order to reflect more accurately its role and functions in the overall Government Emergency Response System.
"EMSC's main role is to act as the monitoring and support centre for the Government Secretariat during a widespread or major emergency.
"We hope this will help correct the commonly held misperception that it is an operational command centre, over and above the operational command centres in the Emergency Services," said the Government spokesman.
EMSC staff will monitor the development of incidents and Government's response. They will also render civilian support to the operations of the emergency services and supporting agencies when required.
The spokesman pointed out that the EMSC is part of the Government's emergency response system.
Most of Government's emergency responses are handled by the emergency departments at the operational level. The EMSC would be called into action only when a major incident causing widespread threats to security, property and life is evolving and where extensive Government emergency response operations were required.
"In discharging its monitoring role, EMSC will liaise closely with other command and communications centres such as the Police Headquarters Command and Control Centre and the Fire Services Communications Centre," he added.
End
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