Storm hits HK, Macau amid typhoon recovery
A POWERFUL storm lashed Hong Kong and Macau yesterday, days after a punishing typhoon swept through the region and claimed at least 18 lives.
Both cities raised a Typhoon 8 signal – the third-highest warning level – early yesterday as Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar made landfall in the region, where emergency workers were still battling to repair Wednesday’s damage.
A total of 206 flights were cancelled and another 471 delayed because of the latest storm, while 44 flights had to divert, Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said. Cathay Pacific, the city’s flagship, said “cancellations, diversions and severe delays” were expected.
No deaths were reported yesterday but Hong Kong hospital officials said 62 people were injured.
In Macau authorities issued fresh flooding warnings as shops that were battered on Wednesday remained closed yesterday morning.
Pakhar arrived as worst-hit Macau was still picking up the pieces following Typhoon Hato, the city’s strongest typhoon in 53 years according to its government. Hato, which triggered the most severe Typhoon 10 warning, 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 government of the semiautonomous Chinese city faced recriminations over its lack of preparedness.
A further eight people are known to have died from Typhoon Hato in the neighbouring mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, which Pakhar also reached mid-morning yesterday.