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AIA Announces Results of 14th Desired Retirement Tracker

Survey Reveals Need for Hong Kong’s Working Population to Refocus on Retirement Planning as It Embraces a Post-pandemic World

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 8 February 2023 – Retirement savings, retirement investments, medical protection, and physical and mental wellbeing are the four essential components of an ideal retirement life. However, many Hong Kong workers experienced disruptions to their retirement planning due to COVID-19. Now, with society gradually moving towards a post-pandemic world, AIA Hong Kong has announced the results of its “14th Desired Retirement Tracker” (the survey), which analysed Hong Kong workers’ changing attitudes towards retirement preparations amidst the resumption of normal activities and revealed their views according to the four primary aspects of retirement.

The
The “14th AIA Desired Retirement Tracker” reveals the attitudes of working people in Hong Kong towards retirement in the post-pandemic “new normal” and offers suggestions on aspects including retirement savings, medical protection, physical and mental wellbeing, and retirement investment.
Pictured is Ms. Elaine Lau, Chief Corporate Solutions Officer of AIA Hong Kong and Macau.

Key findings were as follows:

Retirement savings

  • Forty-seven percent of respondents have increased their personal savings over the past three years (i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic). Of these, 41% have achieved extra savings of more than HK$40,000.
  • Seventy-three percent of respondents said they will increase their entertainment spending as their social lives return to normal. Well over half (58%) plan to use their savings for so-called “revenge” travel, while 46% plan to travel in the next three to six months with an estimated budget of HK$22,918 (median).

Medical protection

  • Among respondents who have been infected with COVID-19, 80% agree life is fragile and that they should enhance their medical protection. However, only 17% have purchased additional medical insurance since having the virus.
  • Among all respondents, 22% do not have any medical insurance and 13% have group medical insurance only, meaning 35% may lack medical protection after retirement.

Physical and mental wellbeing

  • Fifty-eight percent of respondents prefer a hybrid working mode and hope to work from home an average of 2.8 days per week. However, 76% think that work-from-home arrangements cause the boundary between work and personal life to blur.

Retirement investment

  • Seventy-eight percent of respondents would like to have sustainable investment elements in their retirement investment portfolios, while 80% admit that they do not know how to choose ESG MPF products.

Detailed survey results

Retirement savings: affected by revenge consumption and travel

The survey revealed that nearly half of respondents (47%) have increased their personal savings over the past three years due to reduced travel or shopping. Of these, around 40% have achieved extra savings of over HK$40,000. Also, after three years of pandemic restrictions, people are ready to increase their spending on entertainment and travel: 73% of respondents will spend more on entertainment as social life returns to normal; 58% plan to travel; and nearly half (46%) plan to travel in the next three to six months, with an estimated budget of HK$22,918 (median) to include flight tickets, accommodations, shopping, etc.

Medical protection: people agree on its importance but fail to act

The survey also explored views on medical protection among respondents who have been infected with COVID-19. Eighty percent said “life is fragile and [I] should enhance [my] medical protection”, yet only 17% have purchased additional medical insurance since they had the virus, demonstrating that only a small portion of people have taken action to acquire additional medical protection. Respondents gave three main reasons as to why they have not purchased additional medical insurance: 42% said they plan to use only public medical services in the future, 38% have insufficient funds, and 19% think the protection provided by their employer’s group medical insurance is adequate.

Among all respondents, more than one fifth (22%) do not own any individual medical insurance and 13% have group medical insurance only, which means 35% of respondents may lack medical protection after retirement. As medical expenditures increase with age, their retirement savings may be insufficient for their actual needs.

Physical and mental wellbeing: work-life imbalance affects health

As society returns to normalcy, some businesses have gone back to office working arrangements. However, the survey revealed that nearly 60% of respondents (58%) prefer a hybrid working mode (i.e., one that gives employees the flexibility to work from office or home) and hope to work from home an average of 2.8 days per week.

However, there were underlying concerns. Seventy-six percent of respondents agree that work-from-home arrangements cause the boundary between work and personal life to blur, 70% think they result in longer working hours, and 64% think they will reduce social lives and hence contribute to a stronger sense of solitude.

Retirement investment: interested in ESG investment, but hindered by limited knowledge

The pandemic has taught the lesson that individuals, society and the environment are interdependent. The survey found that 78% of respondents would like to incorporate sustainable investment elements into their retirement investment portfolios. However, respondents also have limited knowledge of ESG investments1: 80% admit that they do not know how to choose ESG MPF products, and 60% think ESG investments are limited to environmental protection or carbon reduction.

Suggestions


Ms. Elaine Lau, Chief Corporate Solutions Officer of AIA Hong Kong and Macau, remarked, “We are pleased to see the community return to a more normal way of life. But while it is understandable that people are looking forward to increasing their spending on travel and social activities in a post-pandemic world, it is still crucial to strike a balance between spending, saving and building healthy financial habits. In addition, it is not advisable to rely solely on group medical insurance for medical protection. To build stronger health cover, working people should start simple. For example, they could make MPF Tax Deductible Voluntary Contributions and purchase a Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme based on their own needs to establish a more adequate retirement and medical safety net while also enjoying tax deductions.”

Ms. Lau added, “The survey found that working people have become more aware of their physical and mental wellbeing and are more determined to pursue a healthy lifestyle than before. AIA strives to go beyond traditional employee benefits by bringing together group insurance and workforce wellness, providing employee benefits solutions that cover physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing and help the public live ‘Healthier, Longer, Better Lives’. As for ESG, promoting the sustainable and healthier development of society has always been one of our corporate strategic priorities. As interest in ESG-related MPF funds rises among our members, we will continue to offer educational tools through a variety of channels to enhance their knowledge of ESG and related funds.”

Detailed suggestions for Hong Kong workers
Retirement savings

Strive for balance between spending and saving

  • While people’s desire to spend more on travel and social activities in a post-pandemic environment is understandable, it is recommended that they still aim to strike a balance between spending and saving and to build a habit of making regular savings.
  • Saving for retirement is a long-term discipline. With the snowball effect of compound interest2, every dollar saved may yield higher returns over time. When preparing a retirement plan, one should cultivate a savings habit, practise prudent financial management, and consider increasing savings and investment amounts whenever possible, making good use of qualifying deferred annuity products and MPF Tax Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC) to reduce retirement reserve shortfalls while enjoying tax deductions.
Medical protection Get medical protection as soon as possible

Employees:

  • The pandemic has underscored the importance of having medical protection. Employees should not neglect the need for individual medical insurance even if they are covered by their employer’s group plan. In addition, group medical insurance will become invalid after retirement or departure from a company. Medical insurance premiums tend to be more expensive after retirement, and medical insurance options and cover are more limited due to increased health conditions. Without adequate individual medical insurance, employees may find themselves facing a medical protection shortfall – or find that they have no protection at all.
  • Employees are advised to arrange for medical protection as early as possible. They may want to consider purchasing medical insurance during their employment, for example through a Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) or portable employee voluntary medical protection plans. Under such options, protection will continue even after departure from a company or retirement. Moreover, a VHIS offers guaranteed renewal up to 100 years of age, greatly increasing the duration of one’s medical protection.

Employers:

  • Employers should regularly evaluate whether their group medical insurance plans are able to meet the varying needs of their employees. Some group insurance providers offer packages and tailor-made solutions to fit different business budgets. These solutions also offer protection for group medical, life, critical illness, personal accident, dental and business travel to provide comprehensive protection for employees.
Physical and mental wellbeing Establish a healthy lifestyle

Employees:

  • Embrace a healthy lifestyle by getting regular medical check-ups, exercising and adhering to a healthy diet. Joining a programme such as “AIA Vitality” is a positive step towards living ‘Healthier, Longer, Better Lives’.
  • Build a sense of personal fulfilment by actively engaging in the community, developing a positive self-image and living a meaningful life.
  • Stay positive by understanding and managing mental health and seeking help when in need.

Employers:

  • Build an inclusive working environment and support network to enhance employees’ sense of belonging and self-worth.
  • Choose providers that offer comprehensive employee benefits solutions to help employees stay healthy.
Retirement investment Increase knowledge of ESG investing concepts

  • Before making ESG-related investment decisions, MPF members should understand clearly the details and risks of the funds. When comparing different funds, they should be cautious and not just follow the crowd. They should also regularly review their investment to ensure it continues to match their investment objectives.
  • ESG concepts can be incorporated through MPF management. Examples include investing in MPF funds with ESG concepts, and managing MPF via e-channels to minimise the environmental impact of paper consumption.
  • MPF members may want to consider providers that have extensive experience with ESG-related MPF funds and products.

The “14th AIA Desired Retirement Tracker” was conducted between 31 October and 11 November 2022 through online questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. A total of 1,023 working people in Hong Kong aged 18-65 and with at least one MPF account were interviewed regarding their goals, views on their desired retirement life and the possibility of achieving it. Survey data was weighted according to the distribution of Hong Kong’s working population (including factors such as age, gender and monthly personal income) to ensure that the sample fully reflected the characteristics of Hong Kong’s working population. The survey was conducted by Cimigo, an independent market research and consultancy agency.


1 ESG investments incorporate environmental, social and governance elements into the investment decision-making process.

2 Reference: MPFA

Hashtag: #AIA

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About AIA Hong Kong & Macau

AIA Group Limited established its operations in Hong Kong in 1931. To date, AIA Hong Kong and AIA Macau have over 17,000 financial planners1, as well as an extensive network of brokerage and bancassurance partners. We serve over 3.4 million customers2, offering them a wide selection of professional services and products ranging from individual life, group life, accident, medical and health, pension, personal lines insurance to investment-linked assurance schemes with numerous investment options. We are also dedicated to providing superb product solutions to meet the financial needs of high net worth customers.

1 as at 30 June 2022
2 Including AIA Hong Kong and AIA Macau’s individual life, group insurance and pension customers (as at 30 June 2022)

Outpour of Aid From Asia-Pacific Region After Devastating Earthquake in Turkey

Outpour of Aid From Asia-Pacific Region As Magnitude-7.8 Earthquake Hits Turkey
Emergency personnel scour through ruined building, Turkey. (Photo: Hussein Malla/AP)

Countries across the Asia-Pacific region have offered aid after an earthquake on Monday killed thousands and devastated a vast area of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria.

Lao Govt. Monthly Cabinet Meeting Tackles Economic Challenges

Lao Government Cabinet Meeting Tackles Economic Challenges
Lao Prime Minister, Mr. Sonexay Siphandone during the government meeting (photo: Pathedlao)

The monthly government meeting for January was held this week and focused on grappling with the current economic crisis and rising inflation.

US Funds Over 21 Million for MAG’s UXO Activities in Xieng Khouang Province

The United States of America has provided MAG additional funding of USD 21.75 million for twenty-eight months to continue the implementation of UXO clearance, surveys, and explosive ordnance risk education in Xieng Khouang province.

NetApp Announces New Line of Low-Cost, Capacity Flash Storage for the Modern Data Center

NetApp reaffirms its leadership position with deep innovation across its storage portfolio, adding mid-market and entry level options to help customers navigate current economic conditions and constrained budgets

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 8 February 2023 – NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company, today announced the upcoming availability of the NetApp AFF C-Series, a new family of capacity flash storage options that deliver lower cost all-flash storage, and NetApp AFF A150, a new entry-level storage system in the AFF A-Series family of all-flash systems.

NetApp-AFF-C-Series.jpg
The NetApp AFF C-Series

The new NetApp AFF C-Series delivers flash performance, while remaining cost-effective and efficient for a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and a smaller storage footprint. This family of capacity flash arrays are also offered with one of the industry’s most comprehensive software suites, ONTAP One, an all-in-one license that includes all available NetApp software. Customers can modernize their data center with the flexibility to choose the right storage (performance flash, capacity flash, or hybrid) for their VMware, database, and file workload requirements, all running on NetApp ONTAP and managed centrally by NetApp BlueXP for a seamless hybrid cloud experience.

NetApp also announced today, NetApp Advance, a new portfolio of storage programs and guarantees to deliver best-in-class customer ownership experience and cost-effectively future proof on-premises environments.* This gives customers the flexibility and choice to safeguard their storage investment – whether the C-Series, AFF A150 or other newly acquired AFF or FAS systems – with the ability to right-size on-premises environment and transition to storage as a service or cloud storage as their business requires. And with NetApp’s 4:1 Storage Efficiency Guarantee,* NetApp ensures that workload efficiency goals are met, or NetApp will rectify this at no cost to the customer.

“NetApp has been a flash storage leader for years, and today’s announcements of the AFF C-Series and A150 builds on that legacy of innovation to bring our customers and partners some of the most affordable and sustainable all flash storage in the market today,” said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Storage at NetApp. “As companies are looking at their bottom line in this economic environment, we want to meet their needs by providing capacity flash at a lower cost to entry in order to better enable their transition from hybrid storage to all-flash while staying in budget.”

The NetApp AFF C-Series, which is comprised of the AFF C250, AFF C400 and AFF C800, offers:

  • Guaranteed storage efficiency to improve an organization’s storage footprint and energy costs to reduce TCO while simplifying operations.*
  • Seamless scalability on-premises to allow organizations to scale capacity and performance as their data grows.
  • Best-in-class data security with ransomware protection to keep important data secure, available and protected.

The new NetApp AFF A150 is ideal for Mid-size businesses, and Remote Office/Branch Office (ROBO) and distributed deployments to better meet the needs of customers who require entry-level, enterprise-class storage, while providing:

  • Better performance
  • More scalability and expansion options
  • High availability with support for MetroCluster IP

“The economic reality is driving APAC organizations to optimize operational efficiency while minimizing costs,” said Sanjay Rohatgi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, NetApp Asia Pacific. “I am excited to launch the new AFF solutions today to bring customers a new level of simplified high-capacity, lower cost on-premises storage to modernize their data centers. They can now future proof their investments, and address economic headwinds and sustainability goals concurrently.”

These additions to NetApp’s product line-up are ideal for entry-level to high-end workloads (including virtual machines, database, and backup consolidation), are feature-rich with ONTAP data management, and are offered at an attractive price point for customers – creating strong growth opportunities for NetApp partners to reach new markets while qualifying for NetApp Partner Sphere incentives.

“NetApp continues to assert itself as one of the market’s preeminent innovators for hybrid cloud storage,” said Juan Orlandini, Chief Architect and Distinguished Engineer at Insight Enterprises. “As a leading solutions integrator and longtime NetApp partner, we know our joint customers are looking for the industry’s most innovative solutions and services to enable speed, scale and resilience for their business. With these new capacity flash and entry level offerings, we’re opening the door to acquire new customers at scale.”

NetApp Advance is available today. The NetApp AFF C-Series family and NetApp AFF A150 will be available starting in March 2023, and NetApp and Cisco plan to offer these storage options within the industry-leading integrated infrastructure offering, FlexPod, in Q4 FY’23.

*Terms and conditions will apply.

Additional Resources

Hashtag: #NetApp

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About NetApp

NetApp is a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company that empowers organizations to lead with data in the age of accelerated digital transformation. The company provides systems, software and cloud services that enable them to run their applications optimally from data center to cloud, whether they are developing in the cloud, moving to the cloud, or creating their own cloudlike experiences on premises. With solutions that perform across diverse environments, NetApp helps organizations build their own data fabric and securely deliver the right data, services, and applications to the right people—anytime, anywhere. Learn more at or follow us on , , , and .

NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Southco Introduces New Rotary Latch with Anti-Vibration Bumper And Cable Mounting Bracket

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 8 February 2023 – Southco Asia Ltd., a subsidiary of Southco Inc., a leading global provider of engineered access solutions such as locks, latches, captive fasteners, electronic access solutions and hinges/ positioning technology has introduced two new options to its heavy-duty R4 Rotary Latch line, offering an anti-vibration feature and an integrated cable mounting bracket solution. Southco’s new R4-30 Rotary Latch additions dampen noise from vibration and simplify cable mounting for applications requiring remote latching. Southco’s R4-30 Rotary Latch with Integrated Bumper – available with any of the R4-30 configurations – holds the latch striker between the cam and bumper, eliminating the potential for unwanted noise and vibration for applications in motion. The R4-30 with Cable Mounting Bracket is available for bottom lever solutions and enables cables to be easily configured and incorporated into the rotary system, without needing to buy and install a separate cable bracket.

R4-30 Rotary Latch with Integrated Bumper and Cable Mounting Bracket
R4-30 Rotary Latch with Integrated Bumper and Cable Mounting Bracket

The R4-30 Rotary Latch with Integrated Bumper and Cable Mounting Bracket is available with high-strength steel and corrosion-resistant stainless steel construction. The R4-30 features either single-stage or two-stage engagement which supports increased operator safety by eliminating false latching conditions in heavy duty equipment applications.

Southco R4 Rotary Latch Systems provide a robust solution to secure panels with push to close convenience, offering concealed latching at one or more points of the application. When combined with Southco AC Actuators and Cables, R4 Rotary Latches create a complete Rotary Latching System, providing secure, reliable, remote latching for interior and exterior applications.

Global Product Manager Cindy Bart adds, “The R4-30 Rotary Latch with Integrated Bumper prevents buzz, squeak and rattle in Off-Highway, Transportation and Industrial Machinery applications, creating better end user experiences. The integrated bracket simplifies cable mounting, reducing the time, investment and effort needed to integrate cables into the latching system.”

For more information about the latest Southco’s Rotary Latch, please visit https://southco.com/rotarylatch.
Hashtag: #southco #rotarylatch #heavyduty #bumper

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Southco Asia Limited

Southco, Inc. is the leading global designer and manufacturer of engineered access solutions. From quality and performance to aesthetics and ergonomics, we understand that first impressions are lasting impressions in product design. For over 70 years, Southco has helped the world’s most recognized brands create value for their customers with innovative access solutions designed to enhance the touch points of their products in transportation and industrial applications, medical equipment, data centers and more. With unrivalled engineering resources, innovative products and a dedicated global team, Southco delivers the broadest portfolio of premium access solutions available to equipment designers throughout the world.

Southco Asia Limited
2401, Tower 2, Ever Gain Plaza
88 Container Port Road, Kwai Chung
Hong Kong

NetApp Advance Offers Organizations Next Level Hybrid Cloud Flexibility and Efficiency

NetApp’s new portfolio of programs and guarantees makes it easier to manage storage investment and avoid sporadic capital expenditures

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 8 February 2023 – NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company, today announced the availability of NetApp Advance, a new portfolio of storage programs and guarantees to help customers cost-effectively future proof on-premises environments.

NetApp Advance evolves the storage lifecycle, allowing organizations the possibility to avoid complex, costly, and time-consuming refresh cycles by enabling ongoing, non-disruptive hardware upgrades – and ensures efficient, secure and sustainable storage with new guarantees offered to meet the needs of organizations today.

With simplified storage ownership and management, NetApp Advance can help to eliminate complex, time-consuming, and costly upgrade cycles while staying current with technology innovations. Organizations can choose on-premises or cloud storage options to future-proof environments to scale securely, seamlessly, and non-disruptively as they grow. Advance also brings sustainability and efficiency best practices and capabilities that continually improve energy efficiency and operational performance to reduce carbon footprint.

“NetApp Advance brings peace of mind to forward looking organizations in need of storage solutions that can adapt and scale as their business changes and grows,” said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Storage at NetApp. “With NetApp Advance, we’re offering customers the confidence that their storage investment today will provide the flexibility to meet their hybrid cloud needs for the future.”

New benefits of NetApp Advance include:

  • Reducing the cost, complexity, and disruption of tech refreshes by buying once and evolving continuously.
  • Greatly reducing the risk previously associated with the journey to hybrid cloud with the flexibility to easily scale out to the cloud if or when business demands it.

Part of NetApp Advance, the new NetApp Storage Lifecycle Program offers:

  • No additional cost non-disruptive upgrades to the latest storage controller technology every three, four, or five years
  • Option to upgrade controllers at only incremental cost prior to three-year renewal.
  • Optional capacity refresh allowing customers to replace lower capacity drives as part of a storage refresh, so customers never have to buy the same capacity twice and can achieve a more efficient & sustainable data center footprint.
  • Remotely managed software updates including non-disruptive ONTAP software upgrades packed with new capabilities and enhancements.
  • Premier-level support services, with Active IQ and Cloud Insights that enable full-stack visibility and AIOps to streamline observability of the infrastructure beyond the storage layer in a single interface to quickly pinpoint issues and simplify troubleshooting. While ONTAP Essentials provides detailed overviews of ONTAP inventories, workloads, and data protection.


Additionally, the NetApp Storage Lifecycle Program introduces the NetApp Cloud Advantage Program, which allows organizations to trade in controllers for full credit toward their choice of NetApp cloud solutions to enable easy scale out to the cloud in order to meet changing business demands – and two new guarantees to benefit organizations in need of agile and efficient storage consumption options and models.

NetApp’s 4:1 SAN Storage Efficiency Guarantee offers that if workload efficiency goals are not met, NetApp will rectify this at no cost to the customer. Available for all AFF all-flash systems.*

NetApp will also introduce a new Sustainability SLA for NetApp Keystone customers. Keystone comes standard with 99.999 percent data availability.* Now Keystone will provide a standard Watts/TB for each SLA-based performance level, with service credits available if those targets are not met. This new SLA is planned for availability in the first calendar quarter of 2023 and specific terms and conditions will apply.

With NetApp BlueXP, customers will soon have access to a new, industry-first Sustainability Dashboard – available for preview in the first quarter of NetApp’s fiscal year 2024. This dashboard provides a holistic view of an organization’s IT environment with real data measuring power, energy and heat usage to deliver a sustainability scorecard. By offering actionable insights with AIOps to improve their overall score and reduce their storage carbon footprint, organizations can simply and easily monitor and achieve their IT sustainability goals.

“Hybrid multicloud has become the foundation of modern businesses in APAC,” said Sanjay Rohatgi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, NetApp Asia Pacific. “With NetApp Advance, customers can have the confidence that when they move to the cloud, the simplified storage ownership they enjoy today can quickly scale up, and give them new levels of efficiency and sustainability to meet changing business needs.”

“As a NetApp partner, EVT is helping our joint customers optimize their IT environment and accelerate their journey to the cloud,” said Scott Gelb, Solutions Architect at Enterprise Vision Technologies. “With NetApp’s announcement of NetApp Advance, we’re now perfectly positioned to help customers do just that by providing a flexible path to non-disruptive upgrades of their on-premises hardware systems, or to right-size their hybrid cloud environments as they scale out to any cloud with credits toward their choice of NetApp cloud solutions. By future-proofing their investment with Advance, we can limit risk and offer infrastructure agility as their business evolves.”

NetApp Advance is available today. Also announced today, the upcoming availability of NetApp AFF C-Series, a new family of capacity flash storage options that deliver lower cost all-flash storage, and NetApp AFF A150, a new entry-level storage system in the AFF A-Series family of all-flash systems.

*Terms and conditions will apply.

Additional Resources

Hashtag: #NetApp

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About NetApp

NetApp is a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company that empowers organizations to lead with data in the age of accelerated digital transformation. The company provides systems, software and cloud services that enable them to run their applications optimally from data center to cloud, whether they are developing in the cloud, moving to the cloud, or creating their own cloudlike experiences on premises. With solutions that perform across diverse environments, NetApp helps organizations build their own data fabric and securely deliver the right data, services, and applications to the right people—anytime, anywhere. Learn more at or follow us on , , , and .

NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Volunteers Clean Up & Raise Awareness After Vat Phou Litter Controversy

Volunteers cleaning up after the Vat Phou festival.

A volunteer group made up of teachers, students, and CHAMPA (Cultural Heritage Management, Preservation, and Territorial Attractiveness) Project team members have spoken out about waste management at the recent Vat Phou Festival, explaining that attempts were made to cope with the rubbish that piled up during the event.