A new system, the lightning location system, will be put into operation by the Hong Kong Observatory in the rainy season this year, the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Lam Chiu-ying said in Hong Kong Wednesday.

As the new system being put into operation, members of the public will be able to see from the observatory's website the distribution of lightning activity to take early precautions to ensure safety, Lam said.

With the support of the meteorological authorities of Guangdong and Macao, parts of the system have been installed in Macao and San Shui. This enables the area of coverage of the system to encompass the entire Pearl River Delta, hence greatly facilitating lightning protection in the region, said Lam.

Regarding rainfall amount and tropical cyclone activity in 2005,Lam said, "Indications are that the annual rainfall will be near normal, whereas the number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong will be slightly less than normal."

"Fewer tropical cyclones do not mean that there is no direct hit, and hence we should not relax precautions against typhoons," he warned. 

Editor: Olivia