Typhoon Wipha: Hong Kong issues first T8 signal of year, 500 flights cancelled
T8 signal expected to remain in force for most of Sunday, Observatory says
More than 500 weekend flights have been cancelled as Hong Kong braces for the arrival of Typhoon Wipha, with the Observatory issuing the first No 8 signal this year at 12.20am on Sunday and considering a higher alert in the morning.
“Wipha will be rather close to the vicinity of the Pearl River [Delta on Sunday] morning. It will skirt about 50km south of the Hong Kong Observatory,” the forecaster said.
It added that the No 8 signal was expected to remain in force for most of the day, with adverse weather persisting.
“Depending on the distance between Wipha and Hong Kong and the change in local wind conditions, the Observatory will assess the need for issuing higher tropical cyclone warning signals [on Sunday] morning,” the forecaster said.
The Observatory said Wipha had intensified from a severe tropical storm into a typhoon shortly before midnight on Saturday.
The Airport Authority said it expected there would be no departing flights between 6am and 12pm on Sunday, and it would take one to two days before operations returned to normal.