Storm surge responses in Macau: Early warnings and soft adaptation

Few coastal metropolises other than Macau have experienced storm-surge flooding in their central districts three times in the past decade. This paper examines governmental and citizen responses to Typhoons Hato (2017), Mangkhut (2018), and Ragasa (2025), drawing primarily on resident interviews to assess how Macau has strengthened its storm surge response over a short period. A major improvement is the substantially earlier issuance of typhoon signals. Our typhoon model analysis shows that the critical escalation from Signal No. 3 to No. 8 occurred more than 10 hours earlier for Mangkhut and Ragasa than for Hato. Evacuations increased markedly at Signal No. 10 during Ragasa, a pattern not observed for Hato or Mangkhut. The appropriateness of warning issuance for the three events is discussed in detail, highlighting the necessity of precautionary early warnings, as reliance on weather predictions alone is insufficient to ensure safe evacuation. Although no major coastal defenses, such as tall seawalls, have been built since Hato, a suite of soft measures—including earlier warnings, government-led evacuations, storm-surge warning posts, water-level stations, portable floodgates, mangrove afforestation, and residents’ memories of past inundation—reflects enhanced resilience among authorities and citizens. Accordingly, despite substantial storm-surge damage, respondents evaluated recent government disaster management positively. This study provides an external assessment of Macau’s mitigation efforts, with implications for other typhoon-prone coastal cities. Highlights : • Macau central districts flooded by storm surge three times in the past decade. • The government was criticized for issuing the typhoon signal too late during Hato. • The authorities responded much earlier during Mangkhut and Ragasa. • Despite “cry wolf” concerns, precautionary warnings improved citizens’ satisfaction. • Soft measures and residents’ disaster memory improved Macau’s storm-surge response.