Mangkhut – a super scary experience
Rescue for dozens trapped in landslides unlikely, says mayor
PETALING JAYA: Malaysians living in China, Hong Kong and Macau are relieved that the ferocious Typhoon Mangkhut is now weakening because it has been a terrifying experience.
It left behind a trail of destruction and massive clean-up work has begun as people there try to restore normal life.
The wind’s intensity exceeded 200kph at its peak and the Hong Kong Observatory on Sunday issued a Hurricane Signal No. 10 – the highest level.
Postgraduate student Melvin Tan, 27, was visiting Zhuhai in China on Sunday when the super cyclone – the strongest tropical cyclone in the world this year – hit.
“I was on the 18th floor of the hotel that time and I felt really dizzy as you could actually feel the building shaking.
“I had no choice but to stay in the hotel the whole day. I went to Zhuhai not knowing that it would be affected,” he said.
Tan is currently pursuing International MBA at the Sun Yatsen University in Guangzhou.
Both Guangzhou and Zhuhai are located in Guangdong province, one of the worst-hit areas in China.
Tan said his friends in Guangzhou had instant noodles for three meals as everyone was in a lockdown for at least 24 hours.
“The local government also put out a notice saying that all public transport could not operate and all shops were ordered to be closed.
“The winds were really strong and there were tree branches flying everywhere.
“It was everything you expect to see from a Hollywood movie, minus the flying cars,” he said when interviewed yesterday.
Tan, who is now back in Guangzhou, said volunteers and residents had started cleaning up roads and five-foot ways, although there were still strong intermittent winds.
He noted that the improved infrastructure there resulted in slightly minimal damage there as compared to Typhoon Hato last year.
Meanwhile, Over in Macau, pastry chef Teh Min San, 26, said there was a total lockdown at the hotel she was working.
“We even had to spend the night at the hotel before the warning signal was raised to No. 9.
“Foldable beds were provided at the banquet hall and everyone prepared for the worst.
“Luckily, the power did not go out and there were no blackouts at the hotel so it wasn’t as hazardous compared to last year where the power was cut off for half a day.
“Food wastage itself cost us millions that time,” she said, adding Typhoon Mangkhut was not as bad as Typhoon Hato.
Meanwhile, Wisma Putra confirmed that no Malaysians have been reported injured as a result of the typhoon.
Its Consulate General offices in Hong Kong and Guangzhou are in close contact with local authorities for the latest updates and advisories to assist any Malaysian.
A check on flights from Kuala Lumpur to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan yesterday showed that several flights were delayed up to eight hours.
As of 2.40pm yesterday, the Hong Kong Observatory has replaced its warning signal to No. 1, which is just a standby signal that a tropical cyclone is centred within 800km of Hong Kong and may affect the territory.
ITOGON: A Philippine mayor said it’s unlikely any of the dozens of people thought buried in a huge landslide set off by Typhoon Mangkhut will be found alive, though rescuers were still digging through the massive mound of mud and debris covering a chapel where they had sheltered.
Mayor Victorio Palangdan of Itogon town in Benguet province, among the worst-hit by the typhoon that struck on Saturday, said at a news conference that of the 40 to 50 people thought buried, there’s a “99% (chance) that they really are all dead.”
Mangkhut has killed 65 people since it tore through the Philippines. The storm killed another four people in China, where Mangkhut weakened to a tropical storm as it churned inland yesterday.
Palangdan said rescuers have dug out 11 bodies from the slide, which is covering a former miners’ bunkhouse that had been turned into a chapel. Dozens of residents sought shelter there during the storm despite warnings it was dangerous.
“They laughed at our policemen. They insisted,” he said. “They were resisting when our police tried to pull them away. What can we do?”
Hundreds of rescuers, including police and soldiers, scrambled to search for the missing as grief-stricken relatives waited nearby, many of them quietly praying.
“We will not stop until we recover all the bodies,” Palangdan said.
Most of those buried in the slide are thought to be poor miners and their families. In order to prevent such tragedies going forward, Environmental Secretary Roy Cimatu said the government would deploy soldiers and police to stop illegal mining in six mountainous northern provinces, including Benguet.
Philippine officials have said in the past that gold mines tunnelled by big mining companies legally or by unauthorised individuals and small outfits have made the hillsides unstable and more prone to landslides. Tens of thousands of small-time miners in recent years have come to the mountain provinces from the lowlands and established communities in high-risk areas like the mountain foothills of Itogon.
Mangkhut yesterday was still affecting southern China’s coast and the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan and rain and
strong winds were expected to continue through Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Mangkhut was about 200km west of the city of Nanning in Guangxi region, travelling in a north-westerly direction and weakening as it progressed. There were no additional reports of deaths or damage. Life was gradually returning to normal along the hard-hit southern China coast, where high-rises swayed, coastal hotels flooded and windows were blown out. Rail, airline and ferry services had been restored and casinos in the gambling enclave of Macau had reopened for business.