Parents decry premature "storm-triggered" class suspension
發佈日期: 2025-07-11 20:35
TVB News
Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan said the early announcement of class suspension was his decision.
His remarks came as multiple parents decried the decision as rushed and inconsiderate.
He revealed that he had received a briefing from the Observatory the day before yesterday, which forecasted that a severe rainstorm would likely hit Hong Kong early this morning.
Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan said on his social media page that he had convened a meeting of the steering committee on handling extreme weather on Wednesday.
He said the Observatory had forecasted that heavy downpours could affect Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday, and in extreme cases, precipitation was expected to top 390 millimetres throughout the day. That's roughly one-sixth of the city's average annual rainfall.
The Committee believed it was better to err on the side of caution, issuing early alerts based on scientific forecasts, with early response plans.
Chan said the rainstorm evolved rapidly, and each rainstorm warning signal was issued based on real-time rainfall data and scientific forecasting models.
Still, the decision drew criticism from some residents.
Some parents lamented how their children's graduation ceremonies were called off while others suggested a final decision could have been delayed until 5 a.m. on the day.
Among those impacted was a primary school in Ma On Shan which was forced to postpone its annual performance.
A parent questions the accuracy of weather predictions from the Observatory, as she slammed the government's rushed decision as being inconsiderate to students.
On Friday afternoon, some lawmakers received messages from Eric Chan, who said he did not want the public to blame the Observatory or the Education Bureau.
He said he was the one who had made the decision.
Lawmaker Adrian Ho said the government should consider reviewing the mechanism to allow both proactive arrangements and flexible adjustments.
