Deputy Director of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) Chen Lianzeng and Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) Lam Chiu-ying signed the agreement.

Chen said the SOA and HKO will exchange data and technology on the observation and forecasting of typhoons, storm surges, wind waves, sea fog and tsunamis.

Historically, storm surges associated with typhoons have wreaked havoc on China's coast including Hong Kong many times. Also, tsunamis generated by undersea earthquakes, and sea level change and climate change due to global warming are topics of common interest to SOA and HKO.

"A partnership between SOA and HKO will enhance our capabilities in forecasting and warning about hazardous oceanic events, for the purpose of preventing and mitigating disasters and for the protection of lives and properties," Lam said.

Exchange of tropical cyclone information between SOA and HKO dated back to the 1980s. To raise public awareness about tsunamis, SOA and HKO co-operated last year to translate the popular scientific publication "Tsunami - The Great Waves" into Chinese on behalf of the International Tsunami Information Center of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, and published the booklet on the mainland and in Hong Kong. The signing of the agreement will facilitate further systematic co-operation between the two parties.