On 16 September 2018, the issuance of the Hurricane Signal No. 10 marked the arrival of Super Typhoon Mangkhut. It struck our city, causing large-scale damage that ranged from injuries (over 450 casualties), trees uprooting, disruption of transportation, flooding in low-lying areas, breakage of windows and curtain walls of buildings, and interruption of electricity or water supply in certain areas ^[1]. Given the huge extent of damage, it is worthwhile to review the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) measures while reflecting on the lessons learned to prepare better for future hazards.

At the end of 2019, cases of unknown viral pneumonia began to appear in mainland China, while related cases had been found in Hong Kong since January 2020. The disease, which was later officially named Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), rapidly spread around the world, and the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a "global pandemic" in March 2020.