storm
Typhoon Saola hits Hong Kong and southern China
Accompanied by heavy rain and gusty winds, typhoon Saola has reached the coastal waters of southern China and Hong Kong. photo
© Daniel Ceng/AP/dpa
The densely populated coastal region is gearing up for perhaps the heaviest typhoon in 70 years. “Saola” is said to rage particularly hard there on Saturday night.
Accompanied by heavy rainfall and gusts of wind, Typhoon Saola hits coastal waters of southern China and Hong Kong. The storm caused great concern there. “Saola” will bring “strong winds, torrential rain and huge waves,” warned party leader Huang Kunming of southern China’s Guangdong province on Friday.
There is a “high risk of serious disasters”. The authorities should do everything “to win the tough fight against the typhoon,” the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post” quoted the politician as saying.
The Chinese Weather Service warned that “Saola” could become the strongest typhoon in the region since 1949. The day before, the authorities had declared the highest red warning level.
The weather service in Hong Kong also predicted “heavy rain and strong winds” on Friday. There were also warnings of flooding in the seven million metropolis. The center of the typhoon will “come very close” to the Chinese special administrative region between Friday evening and Saturday morning (local time). Accordingly, the storm on the southern Chinese coast would only pass around 40 kilometers south of Hong Kong.
Warning level increased
The financial metropolis increased the storm warning level to “T9” on Friday evening (local time). Schools, kindergartens and most offices remained closed all day. The stock exchange in the Asian financial center also stopped trading. Almost all flights and express train connections have been cancelled. Disneyland in Hong Kong remained closed.
Schools and kindergartens also remained closed in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. The citizens were asked by SMS to stop working from the afternoon (local time) and if possible not to go outside.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that 27,000 fishing boats returned to Guangdong ports to shelter from the storm.
“Saola” had previously passed south of Taiwan and caused heavy rainfall there. “Saola” is the ninth typhoon to hit the region this year. The powerful hurricanes occur again and again in the summer months and affect numerous countries in Southeast Asia.