How Typhoon Utor left Hong Kong's streets looking like a scene from 28 Days Later

It's not often that Hong Kong, famed for being a 24-hour city, grinds to a halt.

But Typhoon Utor succeeded on Wednesday in transforming the city into a ghost town.

Like a scene from the Hollywood blockbuster 28 Days Later - where the human race is wiped out by a virus - the streets, walkways and harbour fell silent, with only a few brave souls venturing out.

Despite Hong Kong Observatory issuing a T8 warning at 1.40am, the storm appeared to have little effect on the city, other than to ensure most people stayed safely inside.

Many workers enjoyed an unexpected day off as schools, courts and offices kept their doors closed and ferries were cancelled.

It was a very different picture to last July's T10 typhoon, when trees were torn up by howling winds and torrential rain poured down.

Utor led the Observatory to raise the first T8 signal of this year's storm season.