Restaurants need millions for repairs after Ragasa lashes Hong Kong
Owners of waterfront restaurants in Tseung Kwan O were already struggling with business downturn and say typhoon was like blow from ‘Thor’s Hammer’
Restaurateurs in Tseung Kwan O, whose operations were ruined by Super Typhoon Ragasa, have said the damages run into millions of Hong Kong dollars and will exacerbate their business woes.
Tseung Kwan O was one of the hardest-hit areas, as strong storm surges shattered glass doors at restaurants along the promenade and flushed out chairs, booth seats, cushions, plates and glasses onto the pavements.
Bacaba owner Satpal Singh estimated at least HK$3 million (US$385,700) in damages, as almost all of the waterfront restaurant’s wooden-framed glass doors were shattered, with its marble tabletops split into pieces and bar lifted off the ground.
“The restaurant business is very bad in Hong Kong now. It’s very difficult these days, and this is more of a problem now,” he said on Thursday, pointing out that debris, including chairs and tables, now lay in a heap in two corners of the 120-seat outlet.
Satpal said he had yet to find out how much he could claim from insurance, pointing out that all furniture, electricity and CCTV cameras were written off.
He wondered if the government would provide any assistance and said that if he did not receive any help, his restaurant could close.