The Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department is holding the commemorative campaign Remembrance and Reflection: 50 years after the Tragic Landslides on 18 June 1972 to commemorate the two disastrous landslides that happened in Sau Mau Ping in Kowloon and Po Shan Road on Hong Kong Island 50 years ago. It is also taking the opportunity to remind the public to stay vigilant to landslide risk at all times.
 
     Officiating at the launch ceremony at Tai Kwun today (June 3), the Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr Ricky Lau, said that in light of the GEO's relentless effort over the years, the landslide risk in Hong Kong has been significantly reduced compared with the level in the 1960s and '70s in the last century. However, it may progressively increase due to urban development, slope degradation, extreme rainfall caused by climate change, and more.
 
     Mr Lau said the Government will continue to promote slope safety knowledge to various sectors in the community and raise public awareness on combating landslide risk through various channels.
 
     Also officiating at the ceremony were the Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Mr Michael Fong; the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Dr Cheng Cho-ming; and the Head of the GEO, Dr Raymond Cheung.
 
     At the launch ceremony, three guest speakers also spoke about the disastrous landslides on June 18, 1972. They were Adjunct Professor of the Department of Real Estate and Construction of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Hong Kong Dr Poon Sun-wah; Museum Expert Adviser of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr Cheng Po-hung; and a witness of the Sau Mau Ping landslide, Mr Michael Lau.
 
     The GEO will launch a series of public education activities including large-scale exhibitions, school visits, a thematic video and guided tours to the Po Shan Drainage Tunnel - Landslide Sci-Tech Chamber to enhance public understanding of landslide risk.
 
     The GEO is holding a thematic exhibition at the F Hall Studio of Tai Kwun from today until June 6. The public are welcome to visit and admission is free. The exhibition features a 4D landslide virtual reality experience zone, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) corner entitled "Smart Sandbox - Intercepting landslide with a rigid barrier", and a workshop on making kokedama for the public to create hand-crafted souvenirs. In addition, guided tours to the Po Shan Drainage Tunnel - Landslide Sci-Tech Chamber are also open for application.
 
     Details of the exhibition and the guided tours are available at the Hong Kong Slope Safety website (hkss.cedd.gov.hk).

Ends/Friday, June 3, 2022
Issued at HKT 18:25

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