BEIJING: Hong Kong was battered by strong winds and heavy rain on Sunday (Jul 20) as Typhoon Wipha skirted along China’s southern coast, with fallen trees and collapsed scaffolding spotted across the city.
Wipha was located around 140km to Hong Kong’s southwest as of 5pm, according to the city’s weather observatory.
Hong Kong’s highest tropical cyclone warning, T10, was in effect for around seven hours but was downgraded to the third-highest T8 warning at 4.10 pm as Wipha departed the city.
“Gale to storm force southeasterly winds are still affecting parts of the territory occasionally,” the observatory said.
“The intense rainbands of Wipha are persistently affecting the vicinity of Pearl River Estuary.”
Neighbouring casino hub Macau issued its own top-level typhoon warning shortly after noon, with authorities suspending all public transportation services.
Wipha made landfall on the coast of Taishan city in China’s southern Guangdong province at around 5.50pm on Sunday, state-run CCTV reported.
After landfall, Wipha weakened to the level of a severe tropical storm, CCTV said. At 6pm, it had a maximum wind force of 30 metres per second, according to the report.
In Hong Kong, more than 250 people sought refuge at government-run temporary shelters.
Officials said they received more than 450 reports of fallen trees and a handful of flooding reports, including at a main thoroughfare in the Wong Tai Sin district.
Hong Kong’s airport authority said 80,000 travellers were hit by the rescheduling of 400 flights forced by the typhoon.
Cathay Pacific Airways cancelled all flights with Hong Kong airport between 5am and 6pm on Sunday. It waived ticket change fees and made arrangements for customers to re-book.
Singapore Airlines cancelled the majority of its flights between Hong Kong and Changi Airport on Sunday, while Scoot scrapped all of its flights between the two airports.
Authorities suspended Sunday’s classes at all day schools and daycare centres.
Local trains offered limited services while operations in open sections were suspended.
Wipha also brought heavy rains and flooding to the Philippines, where two people have been reported missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Hong Kong last hoisted the T10 warning signal for Super Typhoon Saola in 2023.
