Like Tree468Likes

Typhoon Season 2013

Closed Thread
Page 60 of 69 FirstFirst ... 52 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 68 ... LastLast
  1. #591

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934
    Quote Originally Posted by dengxi:
    Edit: TLDR for the below as after posting I realised it's a ridiculously long essay - I'm not saying HKO were right or wrong, just that (1) it's plausible they weren't 100% right and (2) I'd like to see more of their justification and insight into the risks... especially given the high costs pointed out in the SCMP article.

    Nice video - interesting to see all those people out there on the streets despite the bad conditions.

    The article on SCMP said that wind speeds of 100km/h shouldn't shut down HK. This article on Accuweather: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weathe...n-phi/16359687 said that the sustained wind speed was around 93km/h at landfall in Yangjiang. It sounds reasonable that we could cope with the wind shown in the video without shutting down the whole of Hong Kong, but I agree this is debatable.

    I also agree with you it could easily have been worse, but also with moving that it seems we had a fairly healthy buffer between us and the storm.

    Now you apparently don't agree with moving and me, fair enough. You also say that HKO got it right, again fair enough. Despite your "let it go" I didn't actually say they'd got it wrong (at least in my latest post!), and you seem to follow this more closely than I do so I'd probably give you and them the benefit of the doubt.

    What I did say I'd like to see, and I think you'd probably be on board with this, is a little more outreach from HKO explaining the risks and actual danger. Even if HKD 4bn is 100 times the actual cost, you could still spend 1% of the cost and get somebody to do some reports that let us know e.g. they put up a T8 because there was a 30% chance that it would speed up and veer right and spin faster and that could have caused abc and xyz damage; and even though that didn't happen we still had 27 fallen trees and the cargo ship down.

    If they could publish more of their reasoning it could actually mean people who wanted to go to work but didn't because of the signal could make it in or people who had to work outside could better evaluate the risks. E.g. if what you say is right and it could have hit Hong Kong hard within an hour, someone travelling an hour to work should check the HKO bulletin right before they go, or those guys outside could make sure to check in once an hour to make sure they don't get caught outside even when it seems safe to work.

    I admit these ideas aren't that well thought out, but if I were the HKO I'd want to take a bit of leadership and not have the SCMP and random guys on forums like you and me second guessing whether they did it right or not. They could do a lot more to educate the public than just calling a T8 from 0140 to 1340. There's middle ground between "HKO got it 100% right" and "they shouldn't have called a T8 it was a millpond" (not that moving said that, but that's how some people seemed to have interpreted it).
    Nice reasoned post.

    And, just to put the record straight, I never said "it's a millpond here so it is everywhere" but I responded to about 3 other earlier posts saying "it's fine here"; "it's fine here but it could be worse in the NT".... so being in the NT I supplied the data from here!

    Since I live on a boat, and we generally get it worse than most of you living in safe, secure high rises, I tend to err on the side of caution and support the HKO when they make these decisions. I also know exactly how strong it is here because every time a gust of strong wind hits the boat we move! BUT, based on 6 typhoon seasons now, including a T10 and a T9 which damaged the jetty and several boats in the marina, THIS TIME it does seem like a little TOO much caution was in place. So far, nobody (to my knowledge) has said that where they was was really bad DURING THE T8, IN HONG KONG. (sure, you've quoted China and Macau and said a ship went down "off the coast of Lantau ... " without saying how far off the coast). And it was certainly worse weather here in the hours following the T8 and the next night!

    I agree with Dengxi - in this day and age, something a little more refined would be helpful with those of us making decisions about whether or not our staff should come into work. Allowing those of us with office staff in a office attached to an MTR station where none drive and only one catches a bus, to perhaps make different decisions to folks with staff working on the outside of a high rise, for example.

    Debate is good and healthy. Unfortunately this site seems to be losing it's ability to DEBATE rather than insult.
    Last edited by MovingIn07; 17-08-2013 at 08:38 AM.
    carang likes this.

  2. #592

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Tuen Mun
    Posts
    2,074

    >>Furthermore, why can't people with desk jobs work from home?<<

    This might work for expats and rich folks with big flats, but the average local is living in <400' sq with spouse, kids (also home from school with the typhoon signal up) and probably in-laws. Good luck with getting any work done!

    Come to think of it, this could also explain just why so many office workers like to stay late at work whether or not they're actually doing anything constructive - it's quieter there!


  3. #593

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    2,454

    Also desk jobs often require access to data and emails held on local servers so unless the company is going to pay for a system that people can access remotely AND pay for all staff to have pcs at home AND ensure they have proper security in place AND can offer IT support to people at home, then working at home isn't really an option.

    Watercooler likes this.

  4. #594

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    5,110
    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    Nice reasoned post.

    And, just to put the record straight, I never said "it's a millpond here so it is everywhere" but I responded to about 3 other earlier posts saying "it's fine here"; "it's fine here but it could be worse in the NT".... so being in the NT I supplied the data from here!

    Since I live on a boat, and we generally get it worse than most of you living in safe, secure high rises, I tend to err on the side of caution and support the HKO when they make these decisions. I also know exactly how strong it is here because every time a gust of strong wind hits the boat we move! BUT, based on 6 typhoon seasons now, including a T10 and a T9 which damaged the jetty and several boats in the marina, THIS TIME it does seem like a little TOO much caution was in place. So far, nobody (to my knowledge) has said that where they was was really bad DURING THE T8, IN HONG KONG. (sure, you've quoted China and Macau and said a ship went down "off the coast of Lantau ... " without saying how far off the coast). And it was certainly worse weather here in the hours following the T8 and the next night!

    I agree with Dengxi - in this day and age, something a little more refined would be helpful with those of us making decisions about whether or not our staff should come into work. Allowing those of us with office staff in a office attached to an MTR station where none drive and only one catches a bus, to perhaps make different decisions to folks with staff working on the outside of a high rise, for example.

    Debate is good and healthy. Unfortunately this site seems to be losing it's ability to DEBATE rather than insult.
    Umm..no offence, but I guess it never occurred to you that something might happen while those workers are waiting for the bus while exposed to the wind? And do you think buses operate normally during a T8 (if at all)?
    Last edited by Watercooler; 18-08-2013 at 11:54 AM.

  5. #595

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    3,251

    Another storm developing but this one wants to go to Taiwan.


  6. #596

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    3,471
    Quote Originally Posted by Trance Omega:
    Another storm developing but this one wants to go to Taiwan.
    If the STR strengthens as expected it will cross through Taiwan and you'll be putting your patio furniture in Virago's garage again...

  7. #597

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    3,251

    He has a garage?


  8. #598

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,441
    Quote Originally Posted by Trance Omega:
    He has a garage?
    I have plenty of room for the BBQ and wine.

    Sent from somewhere....

  9. #599

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    3,251

    Thought you lived under a bridge....


  10. #600

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    3,471

    Virago, living the dream...

    virago and Watercooler like this.

Closed Thread
Page 60 of 69 FirstFirst ... 52 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 68 ... LastLast