Landslide emergency service of the government of the Hong Kong special administrative region (HKSAR)

In the HKSAR, there is high seasonal rainfall, a heavy concentration of development on hillsides and a large number of steep slopes. The Government is committed as part of its effort in reducing landslide risk to provide an efficient emergency service to protect life and property against landslide danger. This landslide emergency service is a concerted effort by different Government departments and the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) of the Civil Engineering Department plays the special role of providing expert geotechnical advice to other departments to deal with the consequences of the landslides. The primary objective of GEO's service is to give advice on necessary emergency measures to remove immediate landslide danger and on urgent repair works to minimize disruption to the community. The GEO has also established, for planning purposes, a worst possible landslide scenario for the HKSAR under the extreme rainstorm conditions and is developing an appropriate preparedness plan for it.