Tropical storm Pakhar brought strong winds and heavy rain to Hong Kong and Macau on Sunday, just four days after one of the strongest typhoons on record, Hato, caused serious flooding and damage in the territories and killed at least 10 people in the gaming hub.
Pakhar brushed passed both cities on Sunday morning and landed in the southern Chinese city of Taishan, according to local weather authorities. Macau will lower the typhoon signal at 1 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) while Hong Kong is considering the same.
Both cities issued their third-highest weather warnings, storm signal No. 8, early on the day as winds intensified and heavy rain lashed down, churning up rough seas and prompting alerts of flooding in low-lying areas.
No serious damage has been observed in Hong Kong so far. The government said it has received three reports of flooding and 85 reports of fallen trees.
Hong Kong's weather observatory said winds occasionally reached storm force in the southern part of the territory and hurricane force on high ground on Lantau Island to the west of the city where the airport is situated.
Pakhar's arrival comes as the cities are still reeling from Hato. While Hong Kong escaped major damage, Hato devastated Macau, the world's largest gambling hub, killing at least 10 people, injuring 244 and exposing critical infrastructure flaws after it left the city without water and power for days.
"With Pakhar making landfall and departing Hong Kong, local winds are expected to moderate progressively. However, under the influence of Pakhar's rainbands, high winds are still affecting the southwestern part of Hong Kong," said the Hong Kong Observatory, the territory's weather forecasting agency.
The maximum sustained winds recorded at Cheung Chau and Chek Lap Kok slowed to 87 and 61 kilometres per hour, respectively, from 114 and 76 kilometers per hour (71 and 47 miles per hour) earlier. Maximum gusts were 106 and 101 kmh.
Hong Kong's flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, said the storm would cause delays and cancellations to flights arriving and departing on Sunday and Monday. Airport Authority Hong Kong reported that a total of 140 flights have been cancelled as at 6am local time (2200 GMT on Sunday).
Other transport services including ferries to Macau and outlying islands in Hong Kong were suspended.
In Macau, the storm will pose a major setback to clean-up efforts that saw Chinese People's Liberation Army troops deployed to help remove mountains of stinking debris strewn across some heavily flooded districts battered by Hato.
Power has been restored in the territory but some areas still lacked water supply as of Saturday evening, the Macau Government Information Bureau said on its official website.
The government said the city still faced a severe challenge in removing huge piles of waste from the streets, with 2,600 tonnes of debris collected on Saturday alone. Shower facilities and changing rooms at four public swimming pools have been opened to accommodate residents with no water facilities.
Four Hong Kong journalists were denied entry to Macau on Saturday to cover the storms and relief effort on grounds they "posed a risk to the stability of internal security," according to reports from the media companies they represented.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association expressed "deep regret" over the incident and urged Macau to respect press freedom. Police chief Ma Io-kun told a press conference on Saturday he was not aware of the case, but said the government respects press freedom "very much".
Reuters
Sun Aug 27 2017
A man looks at motorcycles tipped over by strong wind from tropical storm Pakhar in Macau, China August 27, 2017. REUTERS
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