Hong Kong Observatory issues typhoon signal No 1 as tropical cyclone Bailu comes within 800km on the way to Taiwan and mainland China
- Storm projected to land in Fujian and Guangdong provinces Saturday night or Sunday morning after sweeping southern tip of Taiwan
- Visibility in harbour fell to 3,000 metres with air quality reaching ‘serious’ risk level – the highest on the scale
The Hong Kong Observatory on Saturday afternoon issued the typhoon signal No 1 as tropical cyclone Bailu came within 800km of the city as it sped towards Taiwan and mainland China.
The Guangdong region, including Hong Kong, experienced very hot weather under the influence of the tropical cyclone, with maximum temperatures exceeding 36 degrees in parts of the New Territories.
Visibility in Victoria Harbour fell to around 3,000 metres with the city blanketed in haze. The air quality health index reached a “serious” risk level – the highest on the city’s five-point scale – at 14 stations across the city.
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The weather forecaster said Bailu would remain far from the city tonight and chance where slim that it would escalate to a No 3 Strong Wind Signal before midnight. Local winds generally do not strengthen but the high temperatures could trigger occasional showers and thunderstorms overnight.
The observatory said the city would be stuck with high temperature in the coming week, peaking at 34 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Rain is expected until Tuesday.
Bailu, which means “white deer” in Mandarin, is the third tropical cyclone to trigger a warning signal in Hong Kong this year after Mun and Wipha, which reached a No. 8 signal in late July.
Bailu was expected to affect Taiwan and regions of mainland China in coming days. The cyclone was 120km southeast of Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan, at noon and landed in the island’s southernmost Pingtung County at about 1pm.
The storm kept moving northwest at the speed of about 26km per hour, with maximum swirling wind speed near the centre at 30m/s, and occasionally 38m/s, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.
It is projected to land in China’ Fujian and Guangdong provinces Saturday night or Sunday morning after sweeping over the southern tip of Taiwan, according to the observatory.
East China’s Fujian Province said Saturday that 9,926 fishing vessels had been recalled to harbour as it braces for Bailu. The province’s flood control headquarters said 14,012 people had been evacuated from aquatic farms. Authorities also closed 149 seaside tourist spots and 1,318 construction sites out of safety concerns.
The typhoon halted ferry services between Xiamen and Quemoy in Taiwan, and between Pingtan and Taiwan’s Taichung. A total of 124 flights were cancelled at Xiamen airport.
Scaled at Beaufort force 11 out of 17 – a “severe tropical storm”– Bailu was expected to bring heavy precipitation.
The authorities also warned of gale and torrential rain, with the maximum precipitation in Hualien and Taitung.
The National Meteorological Centre in Beijing issued a yellow alert on Saturday, warning of strong winds and rainstorms in Taiwan and the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan. It predicted as much as 60mm of rain per hour in some of those regions.
Another typhoon is forming in the West Pacific and was predicted to be moving northwest towards the coast of China, probably landing next week.
The observatory predicted the heat and haze to continue tomorrow, with the temperature ranging between 27 and 31 degrees.
