The last time a huge storm battered the casino hub, 10 people died and many businesses suffered. This time, residents have planned ahead
Learning from the tragedies of last year, Macau residents raced to batten down the hatches for Super Typhoon Mangkhut on Saturday.
One of the car parks was at Tak Hang Building, a private estate where one man died. On Saturday, managers there were making sure residents keep out this time.
Leong Io-keong, who chairs the building’s owners’ association, said the car park would be in lockdown from 9pm on Saturday until the storm finishes.
“If residents don’t drive away their cars before 9pm, it will be their own fault,” Leong said.
To guard against flooding, a 1.6-metre-tall floodgate was installed at the car park’s main entrance. But Leong conceded it would not hold up against the floodwaters of up to 2.5 metres that the government had forecast.
The car park at Classic Bay, another private housing estate, was also ready to shut its floodgates. Two men were found dead at the lot last August.
A security guard said that, once Mangkhut hit, no one would be allowed in the car park, adding that residents had been told to move their cars to levels of the car park that are above ground.
Anticipating floods, drivers sought to snap up spaces at elevated car parks, forming long queues. To ease demand, the government offered more than 1,800 free spots in public buildings.
