Hong Kong issues typhoon signal No 3 as Yutu edges closer to Guangdong coast

The Hong Kong Observatory issued the typhoon signal No 3 at 12.39pm on Thursday as Typhoon Yutu edged closer to the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong province.

“Unless Yutu takes on a track closer to the Pearl River Delta, the chance of issuing the No 8 gale or storm signal is not high,” a spokesman for the forecaster said.

Yutu would continue to edge closer to the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong on Thursday, he added.

The typhoon signal No 1 was issued on Wednesday morning after Yutu came within 800km of the city.

At 7pm on Thursday, Yutu was estimated to be about 310km southeast of Hong Kong and was forecast to move north or north-northeast at about 8km/h, crossing the northeastern part of the South China Sea.

The Education Bureau announced that classes at kindergartens, schools for children with physical disabilities and schools for children with intellectual disabilities were suspended on Thursday.

“These schools, however, should keep their premises open and implement contingency measures to look after arriving students,” a spokesman said. “They should ensure that conditions are safe before allowing students to return home. Parents need not pick up their children from school immediately.”

The weather on Thursday was expected to be mainly cloudy. The forecast called for very dry weather with sunny intervals at first, with one or two showers later. Winds were predicted to strengthen gradually in the afternoon, accompanied by swells.

In the wake of Yutu, the airline Hong Kong Express announced on Thursday it would cancel all its flights between the city and Saipan, where the typhoon wreaked havoc, until November 21.

The affected route, UO42, flies to Saipan on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, while the return flight UO43 flies on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The carrier said affected passengers could choose to get a full refund for the affected section of their booking.

Alternatively, they could change their travel dates on the same booking, departing within seven days of their original departure date and having the fare difference waived and incurring no change fee; or, they could change to a new destination, departing within seven days of the original schedule and incurring the fare difference but not the change fee.

Windy conditions are expected on Friday, followed by sunny periods over the weekend and early next week.