LCQ21: Issuance of emergency alerts and important information to public
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Question:
The Government launched the Emergency Alert System in 2020 to disseminate public announcements and messages to mobile service users via mobile networks during emergency situations such as extreme weather, major public safety incidents and large-scale public health incidents, thereby enabling the public to take swift contingency measures. However, since its commissioning, the System has only been utilised once in March 2022. There are views that in the past, when extreme weather events and major social incidents occurred, the Government could have made better use of the System to issue early warnings to members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given the view that when a No.5 alarm fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po in November last year, the Government should have used the System to issue an alert to the public to notify residents of the housing court concerned to evacuate the scene of the fire and to appeal to other members of the public to avoid gathering nearby, thus preventing vehicular and pedestrian traffic from impeding rescue operations, of the reasons for the Government not using the System to disseminate such messages at that time;
(2) of the criteria and procedures for the Government's use of the System, including the department or rank of officials responsible for giving final approval; given that the System has two alert levels (i.e. "Emergency Alert" and "Extreme Emergency Alert"), the specific classification standards for these two alert levels;
(3) whether, in the event of a regional or localised sudden emergency incident in the future, the System is technically capable of partially issuing messages and alerts only to members of the public located in specific areas of Hong Kong; whether the authorities will further consider using the "iAM Smart" mobile application to disseminate emergency alerts;
(4) it is learnt that certain departments under local governments in the Mainland occasionally disseminate information to members of the public via mobile phone SMS messages on matters such as inclement weather, disaster prevention during festive periods, public health and major events, whether the authorities will consider drawing reference from such practices and making greater use of mobile phone SMS messages and the "iAM Smart" mobile application to disseminate territory-wide notifications or information to members of the public; and
(5) of the annual recurrent expenditure of the System, and the cost incurred each time it is used to issue messages?
Reply:
President,
In response to various parts of the question raised by Professor the Hon William Wong, having consulted the Security Bureau, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, and the Environment and Ecology Bureau, our reply is as follows:
(1) The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is established to enable government bureaux and departments to send emergency alerts to all mobile service users in Hong Kong via mobile networks in the event of serious emergency situations, such as extensive infrastructure damages or failures caused by extreme weather, significant public safety incidents, or major public health emergency situations. Once the EAS is activated, all mobile service users in Hong Kong will receive on their devices a mandatory alert tone lasting 10 seconds together with the emergency message. Since the objective of the EAS is to prompt members of the public to take immediate responsive actions to safeguard their personal safety, the activation of the EAS will inevitably interrupt their activities or work at that moment and may attract widespread public attention. On the other hand, frequent activation of the EAS may result in reducing vigilance and crisis awareness of citizens regarding the EAS messages. Therefore, government bureaux and departments will carefully evaluate the actual circumstances so as to decide whether to release important information through the EAS or through other communication channels.
The EAS is designed to issue alerts to all mobile users in Hong Kong. As the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po was a district-level incident, the EAS was not activated to send emergency alerts to all mobile service users in Hong Kong. As a matter of fact, the Fire Services Department arrived at the scene within five minutes after receiving the report. With fire engines and police vehicles having arrived at the scene, the sirens on these vehicles served as an immediate alert of the fire to residents. Police officers also made use of the public address systems installed on police vehicles and drones to urge members of the public to evacuate immediately. Firefighters and police officers at the scene also offered immediate assistance to affected residents in evacuating and led them to safe locations. In addition, the Government issued a "special announcement on fire in Tai Po" through press releases, immediate and repeated broadcasts on radio and television channels, in particular to remind nearby residents of the fire at Wang Fuk Court.
(2) Alerts under the EAS are classified into two levels, namely the "Emergency Alert" calling for citizens' actions to avoid immediate risks to their personal health, safety or properties; and the "Extreme Emergency Alert" requiring citizens' immediate actions in response to obvious and imminent danger that could cause the loss of human lives, serious personal injuries and massive damage to properties. According to the established mechanism, under truly justified emergency situations, government bureaux and departments may, after obtaining the approval of the relevant Director of Bureau (and the Chief Secretary for Administration in the case of "Extreme Emergency Alert"), disseminate EAS messages to alert members of the public to take immediate responsive actions.
(3) and (4) The EAS deploys cell broadcast service technology of mobile networks. Technically, it can support dissemination of EAS messages to specific district(s). The Government has been actively reviewing and enhancing the configuration and application of the EAS, including the issuance of territory-wide or district-specific emergency alerts according to different circumstances. The EAS is only one of the dissemination channels, government bureaux and departments will carefully assess the actual circumstances to determine whether to disseminate emergency messages to the targeted public located in specific areas in Hong Kong through the EAS.
Regarding information on adverse weather conditions, the Hong Kong Observatory disseminates weather updates not only through television and radio broadcasts but also via its official website, the "MyObservatory" mobile app, and its social media platforms, etc. Besides, the "iAM Smart" mobile app provides a function for disseminating government information and alerts, covering a wide range of contents closely related to citizens' daily lives, including weather warnings and special weather tips, special traffic news, outbound travel alerts, food safety alerts, etc. Users may select through customised settings to receive information and alerts issued by various government departments based on their personal needs.
(5) Mobile network operators shall, pursuant to the prevailing licence requirements, maintain and operate the EAS at their own costs and ensure the continued availability of the EAS so as to enable the Government to disseminate EAS messages through their mobile networks to alert their users during emergency situations. The maintenance and operation of the EAS (including using the system to issue messages) does not involve any additional government recurrent expenditure.
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:45
Issued at HKT 12:45
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