Storm prompts surprise No 8
The No 8 storm signal was issued last night for the first time this year as Severe Tropical Storm Fengshen blew in from the Philippines, where, as a typhoon, it killed more than 1,000 people.
Fengshen was predicted to move north or north-northwest at about 14km/h in the general direction of Hong Kong, the Observatory said. It would be closest to the city early today, it said.
The storm had initially been expected to swing into the South China Sea from the Philippines and track northwards to Taiwan, but instead veered northwest.
The weather today is expected to be cloudy and overcast.
'Occasional heavy rainfall is expected throughout the day. We can't rule out the possibility of a red or black rain warning, or landslide alerts,' a spokesman for the Observatory said. Seas will be rough.
The No8 storm signal was issued at 10.45pm, six hours after the No 3 was issued.
Ferry services connecting Tai O with Tuen Mun were suspended at 5pm. Ferries between Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen were halted at 10.30pm and morning sailings to other Pearl River Delta destinations suspended.
Terminals at the Kwai Chung container port stopped accepting cargo and the River Trade Terminal in Tuen Mun suspended operations.
Tai O, cut off by landslides two weeks ago, was bracing for fresh isolation.
Keung Shan Road, the only link to the community on Lantau's western tip, was partially reopened on Saturday. It would remain open unless a red or black rain warning or a landslide alert was issued, a Transport Department spokesman said. He admitted that in the worst-case scenario, there would be no land or sea transport to or from Tai O.
'If the sea conditions are rough during typhoons, it is not safe to offer ferry services,' he said.
