Death toll rises after Typhoon Hato batters southern China
The death toll from Typhoon Hato rose to at least 16 yesterday after the storm left a trail of destruction across southern China, blacking out Macau’s mega casinos and battering Hong Kong’s skyscrapers.
Eight died in Macau, where cars were left under water and people were seen swimming along what are normally streets. Its mega casinos were running on back-up generators.
A man was killed after being injured by a wall that blew down, while another fell from a fourth-floor terrace and one was hit by a lorry.
The Macau government said two bodies were found in a flooded car park, but details about the remaining victims were not available.
Footage published online yesterday showed water gushing into an underground car park, with people wading through neck-deep water littered with debris as one man shouted in panic.
“I have never seen Macau like this since I came here in the 70s,” said a taxi driver.
He said he thought authorities had reacted too slowly and did not do enough to alert residents about the coming storm.
“It is like they were trying to gamble with their luck because Macau had been lucky before,” he said. There was not enough time for residents to prepare or buy groceries he said.
Ferry services between Macau and Hong Kong resumed yesterday morning but passengers said they experienced delays.
In Hong Kong, Hato (Japanese for pigeon) sparked the most severe Typhoon 10 warning. It is only the third time a storm of this magnitude has hit the financial centre in the past 20 years.
The city may have suffered losses of HK$8bn (Dh3.8bn), said Terence Chong, an economics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, referring to the value of its daily GDP. More than 120 were injured as the city was lashed with hurricane winds and pounding rain.