As Super Typhoon Mangkhut nears southern China, some Hong Kong villagers determined to ride out monster storm
Hardened souls in Lantau village of Tai O, where many live in boats or flimsy stilt houses, were busy preparing for an onslaught on Saturday, but many elderly residents were reluctant to leave despite government advice to take no chances
With the world’s strongest storm this year just hours away from southern China, many residents of coastal areas have been told to take no chances. But in Tai O, a fishing village in an exposed location on the western edge of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, many on Saturday remained unfazed by warnings of impending destruction.
Super Typhoon Mangkhut is set to pummel the city with winds of up to 200km/h come Sunday, yet many villagers were on Saturday insisting on staying until the last possible minute, and some were refusing to leave at all.
The streets were eerily quiet in the morning, with only a few shops open and a handful of tourists wandering through normally crowded alleys. A clear blue sky and stillness in the air belied the danger ahead.
The typhoon tore through the northern tip of the Philippines on Saturday packing winds of more than 200km/h along with torrential rain. At least three people died and the storm caused floods, landslides and power outages.
But Fan Ming and her mother were among those in Tai O determined to ride it out. Fan came to the village on Saturday to help her mother prepare.
“My mum used to live on a boat,” she said. “She knows if we will need to evacuate.”
