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Battered Hong Kong cleans up after killer Typhoon Hato pounds region
Signal No 10 storm paralyses city with flights cancelled, billions of dollars lost and widespread flooding, while five people die in Macau
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Hong Kong was left picking up the pieces on Wednesday after a battering by the biggest storm in five years, which killed five people in neighbouring Macau and paralysed cities along mainland China’s southern coast.
Typhoon Hato triggered the No 10 signal – the highest in Hong Kong’s storm warning system – for the first time since 2012, forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from the city and around the region, and caused a power blackout in Asia’s biggest casino hub.
The No 10 signal was raised shortly after 9am, when the centre of the storm was within 80km of Hong Kong, and stayed in force for five hours as Hato, the Japanese word for pigeon, besieged the city with torrential rain and hurricane force winds.
Economic losses were estimated at HK$4 billion to HK$8 billion as the stock market, businesses, offices and schools remained closed throughout the day. It was only after 5pm, with the typhoon signal down to No 3, that shops began opening and public transport services resumed.
As of 5pm on Wednesday, 480 flights had been cancelled at Hong Kong International Airport, one of the region’s busiest cargo and passenger hubs, and around 600 take-offs and landings were scheduled until 6am on Thursday.
In a rare move, the Airport Authority said it was keeping its two runways open to handle the backlog overnight.
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