More of nature’s fury
Pakhar sweeps in days after Hato kills 18
Second storm hits Hong Kong and Macau amid typhoon Hato recovery.
HONG KONG: A powerful storm lashed Hong Kong and Macau, just days after a punishing typhoon swept through southern China and claimed at least 18 lives.
Both cities raised a Typhoon 8 signal – the third-highest warning level – early yesterday morning as severe tropical storm “Pakhar” made landfall in the region, where emergency workers were still battling to repair last Wednesday’s damage.
Around 300 flights were cancelled or delayed yesterday, a spokesman from Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said.
Cathay Pacific, the city’s flagship carrier, said “cancellations and significant delays” were expected to continue today.
All ferry services in Hong Kong were suspended.
Dozens of trees weakened by Wednesday’s typhoon were brought down in the latest storm.
Pakhar brought winds of up to 130kph to Hong Kong.
The Typhoon 8 storm warning level would typically shut down Hong Kong’s stock market, schools and businesses.
In Macau, authorities issue fresh flooding alerts as shops that were battered on Wednesday remained closed yesterday morning, and traffic lights stayed blacked out after Hato wiped out power in the city.
“This is tough, but there is nothing we can do,” said Leung Chinpang, the owner of a maintenance shop, who has been left without water supply since the first storm hit.
Pakhar – named after a freshwater fish from the lower Mekong river – smashed into southern China as worst-hit Macau was still picking up the pieces after Typhoon Hato, the city’s strongest typhoon in 53 years according to the city’s government.
Hato, which triggered the most severe Typhoon 10 warning, had ripped through the gambling hub on Wednesday, plunging casinos into darkness and causing destructive floods.
The official death toll in Macau reached 10, as the enclave’s government faces recriminations over its lack of preparation.
Dozens of visitors had returned to the main tourist attraction of Senado Square in Macau yesterday. — AFP