Hong Kong boosts flood response with new robot deployments
The four pumping machines are capable of draining the equivalent of an Olympic-sized swimming pool every hour
Four new robots will be deployed to severely flooded areas in Hong Kong to help cope with inclement weather.
The Drainage Services Department said on Monday that it had invested about HK$3 million (US$386,844) to buy the four pumping robots with an aim to expedite its work in managing severe flooding incidents.
Director of Drainage Services Ringo Mok Wing-cheong said that the most expensive robot acquired this year cost around HK$1 million, given its ability to operate for eight consecutive hours and pump 800 cubic metres of water per hour.
Taking into account the other three robots, which have pumping capacities of 500 or 700 cubic metres per hour, the combined drainage capacity of all four machines is 2,500 cubic metres, equivalent to the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
“Given the huge impact of extreme weather on Hong Kong, there is a need to acquire strong pumping robots,” he said.
“When the water level reaches a certain level … we will take action and consider whether to deploy the robots.”