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Elizabeth Cheung

Typhoon Hato is the first typhoon since 2012 to cause the No 10 warning signal in Hong Kong.
Schools were closed, flights cancelled, and public transport widely affected as the storm hit the city.
The Observatory says it only issues the No 10 signal – its strongest – when the sustained wind speed tops 118 km/h with gusts exceeding 220 km/h.


First T10 alert in five years: follow Typhoon Hato live in Hong Kong
The last No 10 storm was Vicente, which hit in 2012. The No 10 signal was issued on July 24 and lasted for close to three hours. At least 138 people were injured.

Since the start of tropical cyclone records in 1946, Hato is the 15th typhoon to get a No 10 signal.

Among them, Wanda, a typhoon which hit Hong Kong from late August to early September in 1962, was the deadliest. Wanda escalated to the level of a “super typhoon”, meaning its maximum sustained winds near the centre of the storm reached 185 km/h or above. At least 130 people were killed and 53 people were reported missing.




But the storm that caused the most injuries was York, in 1999. The No 10 signal was issued on the morning of September 16 and lasted for 11 hours – the longest ever recorded. More than 500 people were injured and two people died. A total of 800 signboards collapsed and about 90 roads were impassable after the storm.

That year Hong Kong saw one of the most unusual tropical cyclone seasons due to La Nina, a phenomenon which would bring more typhoons to the city from August to October and a cooler autumn and winter.


Extreme weather scorecard: Hong Kong, Macau vulnerable in Greater Bay Area as Guangzhou, Shenzhen gird for once-in-200 year storms

How investing in nature can help protect Chinese coasts from rising seas and extreme weather

Deadly typhoon names Hato, Kai-tak and Tembin to be dropped from official list of future storm titles, says Hong Kong Observatory

The only way to kick the world into action is for politicians to see how climate change destroys lives in their own constituencies

Typhoon Hato

A brief history of Hong Kong typhoons

People braved the strong winds as Typhoon Vincente approached the city in 2012. Photo: David Wong

Two men push a car after it stalled in calf deep water on Fan Kam Road as Typhoon York brings flooding to the New Territories. 16 sep 99

(120724) -- ZHUHAI July 24, 2012 (Xinhua) -- Two boats are blown to the shore in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, July 24, 2012. Typhoon Vicente landed in Chixi Town of Taishan City in Guangdong early Tuesday.(Xinhua/Xi Hu) (zc)

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

As Typhoon Hato hits the city, we look back at some of the other severe storms to hit Hong Kong


Hong Kong weather

A brief history of Hong Kong typhoons

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As Typhoon Hato hits the city, we look back at some of the other severe storms to hit Hong Kong

As Typhoon Hato hits the city, we look back at some of the other severe storms to hit Hong Kong