https://www.scmp.com/rss/325003/feed Typhoon Hato was a powerful tropical cyclone that struck southern China, including Hong Kong and Macau, in August 2017. The storm caused 10 fatalities in Macau alone, and the destruction led businesses and schools to close for days. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com One afternoon last July, storm water crashed an underground retaining wall at Guangzhou Metro’s Shenzhou Road station, forcing the subway operator to shut Line 21 for seven hours, as a torrential downpour lashed southern China’s largest metropolis. Guangzhou received 74.4 millimetres (3 inches) of rain within an hour that day, an unseasonably violent storm in a city that typically gets three times that precipitation over an entire month. But what happened in Guangzhou paled in comparison with... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3170981/extreme-weather-scorecard-hong-kong-macau-vulnerable-greater-bay-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3170981/extreme-weather-scorecard-hong-kong-macau-vulnerable-greater-bay-area?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Mar 2022 02:00:22 +0000 China experienced record-setting floods this summer, disrupting the daily lives of millions. The Pearl River Delta and Greater Bay Area are also at higher risk of extreme weather events, as higher temperatures and sea-level rise increase the frequency and impact of extreme storms, threatening infrastructure and people’s homes, water safety, agriculture and energy supply. This seriously threatens the livelihoods of Hongkongers and others in the region. For example, in 2017, Typhoon Hato, one of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3108441/how-investing-nature-can-help-protect-chinese-coasts-rising-seas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3108441/how-investing-nature-can-help-protect-chinese-coasts-rising-seas?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Nov 2020 22:50:17 +0000 Three names given to deadly typhoons that wrought havoc in the region have been dropped from an approved list of titles for future storms. Hundreds were killed in the Hato, Kai-tak and Tembin tropical cyclones that landed in China and the Philippines in 2017. Those names will be retired and replaced with yamaneko, koinu and yun-yeung, which mean lynx, puppy and mandarin duck or a popular tea-in-coffee drink in the city respectively, the Hong Kong Observatory announced on Wednesday. The move is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3014201/deadly-typhoon-names-hato-kai-tak-and-tembin-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3014201/deadly-typhoon-names-hato-kai-tak-and-tembin-be?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2019 09:34:39 +0000 Last week, Japan’s Kanji Proficiency Society revealed its “Word of the Year”, based on a nationwide annual poll organised since 1995. The word was “sa i”, which means “disaster” – chosen for the second time in 24 years. While it was chosen after unprecedented heat, floods and typhoon damage across Japan in 2018, the word was tailor-made for the 25,000 scientists, officials and environmental campaigners gathered for the COP24 global climate conference in Katowice in Poland, who dispersed on... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2178208/only-way-kick-world-action-politicians-see-how-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2178208/only-way-kick-world-action-politicians-see-how-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Dec 2018 08:00:00 +0000 It has been five weeks now, since Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc across Hong Kong. Still, the scars are raw, and not just a matter of a few tens of thousands of trees gone. If we are to properly absorb what climate change is all about, we need to look around us now. For most of the world’s 7 billion-plus people, climate change is not about whether global mean temperatures will be 1.5 degrees or 2 degrees higher, or about sea levels rising 10 centimetre more than previous models, or the melting... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2170540/see-how-climate-change-close-and-very-personal-look-no-further?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2170540/see-how-climate-change-close-and-very-personal-look-no-further?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Oct 2018 05:30:00 +0000 Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc on Hong Kong and Macau, causing widespread flooding and damage. Fortunately, although there have been injuries, there has been no loss of human life so far in both cities. Unlike last year when Typhoon Hato claimed 10 lives in Macau, the government there managed to brace itself better for yesterday’s storm. In both Hong Kong and Macau, the authorities prepared sufficiently while citizens were educated on how they should protect themselves. This time, credit must... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2164541/what-typhoon-mangkhut-taught-us-value-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2164541/what-typhoon-mangkhut-taught-us-value-being?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Sep 2018 11:04:22 +0000 Learning from the tragedies of last year, Macau residents raced to batten down the hatches for Super Typhoon Mangkhut on Saturday. Floodgates were up in areas near the city’s inner harbour, where floodwaters taller than a man were reported last August. According to official figures, 10 people died and more than 240 were injured back then, when Super Typhoon Hato hit the casino hub. Of those who died, four were found in car parks. One of the car parks was at Tak Hang Building, a private estate... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2164371/remembering-killer-super-typhoon-hato-macau-residents-prepare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2164371/remembering-killer-super-typhoon-hato-macau-residents-prepare?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Sep 2018 11:30:58 +0000 Unbearably muggy weather, windows crossed up with tape and the anticipation of a day off school or work – anyone who has lived through a summer in Hong Kong will know the signs of typhoon season. With the city preparing for Super Typhoon Mangkhut on Sunday, expected to be the strongest to ever hit Hong Kong since records began, the Post explores a stormy history of weather and useful stuff to know as residents batten down the hatches. What is a typhoon? Typhoons are tropical cyclones in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2163726/fish-buildings-storm-names-and-signal-no-8-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2163726/fish-buildings-storm-names-and-signal-no-8-free?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Sep 2018 01:30:45 +0000 To tape or not to tape? That is the question Hongkongers will consider as Typhoon Mangkhut looms and they worry whether their windows will survive. With the weather expected to deteriorate significantly on Sunday as Mangkhut approaches the city many people are taking no chances and shops say they are running out of tape. LIVE blog on Typhoon Mangkhut: signal No 10 raised as Hong Kong braces for waves up to 14m high “Normally, we can sell six to seven rolls of tape in one week. Yesterday, we sold... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2164276/super-typhoon-mangkhut-hong-kong-shops-run-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2164276/super-typhoon-mangkhut-hong-kong-shops-run-out?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Sep 2018 10:00:45 +0000 Hong Kong businesses – from some of the world’s largest shipping lines to small vendors in the wet markets – scrambled on Thursday to try and minimise the financial punch that Super Typhoon Mangkhut was threatening to deliver. A typhoon triggering a No 8 signal on Hong Kong’s warning scale can carry huge total losses to the city – about US$627 million a day, according to a report by Swiss Re Institute. That is about 67 per cent of the city’s daily GDP, the research arm of the insurer said. And... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2164114/how-much-does-typhoon-cost-us627-million-day-or-two-thirds-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2164114/how-much-does-typhoon-cost-us627-million-day-or-two-thirds-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Sep 2018 11:30:27 +0000 Batten down the hatches and make sure you have plenty to keep you entertained at home – typhoon season is once again bearing down on Hong Kong. Most storms in the past five years that have resulted in the Hong Kong Observatory issuing a typhoon warning signal No 8 or above, have hit the city in August or later. And, while the Observatory usually issues one or two typhoon signals of No 8 or above each year, there were five severe storm warnings last year – including the first typhoon signal No... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158008/typhoon-season-here-all-you-need-know-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158008/typhoon-season-here-all-you-need-know-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Aug 2018 09:30:30 +0000 A festering pile-up of flood-damaged cars remains abandoned in the overstretched underground car parks of Macau almost a year after the city was ravaged by the most deadly storm it had seen in decades. This August sees the first anniversary of Typhoon Hato which claimed the lives of 16 people and led to troops from the People’s Liberation Army deployed on the streets of the former Portuguese enclave for the first time to help in clean-up operations. But, as photographs published on Sunday by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2150073/macau-seeks-help-owners-cars-wrecked-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2150073/macau-seeks-help-owners-cars-wrecked-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Jun 2018 03:45:15 +0000 When Typhoon Hato hit back in August, Hong Kong could consider itself fortunate there were no fatalities, unlike in neighbouring Macau where 10 people were killed. Yet three months on, signs of the storm can still be seen in locations such as Shek O, where debris remains from some of the 1,057 trees that were brought down across the city. In order to monitor about 1.7 million trees in the urban areas of the city, the government established a Tree Management Office seven years ago. Yet, Southern... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2125381/three-months-after-typhoon-hato-struck-hong-kong-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2125381/three-months-after-typhoon-hato-struck-hong-kong-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Dec 2017 04:30:45 +0000 When Typhoon Hato hit Hong Kong in August, an ugly side of the city surfaced. Huge amounts of plastic – bottles included – were carried by the strong winds and high tides from the ocean to beaches and harbourfronts, shedding light on the city’s dependence on plastic and its shameful recycling efforts. Environmentalists called for a citywide ban on the sale of disposable plastic bottled water, warning that if Hongkongers continued to throw away millions of these items every day, landfills would... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2116318/hong-kong-throws-away-52-million-bottles-every?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2116318/hong-kong-throws-away-52-million-bottles-every?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Oct 2017 12:30:00 +0000 Macau’s meteorological bureau had been relying on the personal judgment and decisions by its recently resigned chief for storm forecasts and warning signals, an investigation concluded after the deadly super typhoon Hato wreaked havoc in the city in August. The probe by the city’s Commission Against Corruption into the weather bureau’s forecasting procedures and management also found that Fong Soi-kun, the former director of Macau’s Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau, and his deputies were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2116216/former-macau-weather-chief-made-decisions-storm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2116216/former-macau-weather-chief-made-decisions-storm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Oct 2017 03:35:15 +0000 If you felt like it was abnormally hot and wet in Hong Kong last month, you were right: the city sweltered through its hottest day on record and experienced 13 per cent more rain than usual thanks in part to two typhoons, according to the local forecaster. The Hong Kong Observatory recorded the hottest temperature at its Tsim Sha Tsui headquarters since records began in 1880, with the mercury tipping 36.6 degrees Celsius on August 22. The mean daily temperature was 29.3 degrees – 0.7 degrees... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2111974/hong-kong-swelters-through-hottest-day-record-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2111974/hong-kong-swelters-through-hottest-day-record-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Sep 2017 04:45:46 +0000 Typhoon Hato, which swept through Hong Kong just over three weeks ago, was the first Number 10 signal since 2012. Businesses and flights were disrupted, schools and offices closed, and some villages and estates near the shore suffered flooding. Overall, though, Hong Kong came through the storm in good shape. Fortunately, no deaths were reported here. Despite loss of business and some property damage, most of us managed to stay safe indoors, and life got back to normal the next day. This was not... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2111126/deadly-storms-such-typhoon-hato-are-warning-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2111126/deadly-storms-such-typhoon-hato-are-warning-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Sep 2017 06:00:15 +0000 Hongkongers are facing poor air and scorching heat ahead of more wet weather as a new typhoon brewing near the Philippines threatens to come within 400km of the city. On Tuesday the Environmental Protection Department recorded high levels of pollution. Central, Kwai Chung, Tsuen Wan, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok registered a “serious” rating – the worst on the air quality health index. Temperatures reached over 35 degrees Celsius in parts of the city, with Tseung Kwan O recording a high of 36.2... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2110803/new-typhoon-expected-bring-cloudy-weather-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2110803/new-typhoon-expected-bring-cloudy-weather-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Sep 2017 06:30:15 +0000 Residents of Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay have raised concerns over the fate of a 2,000-tonne cargo vessel off Nim Shue Wan that was grounded three weeks ago but is now partially submerged and leaking oil into the surrounding waters. On August 23, the small container feeder, which was not loaded at the time, drifted into the area near the Discovery Bay marina at the height of Typhoon Hato. Fierce winds and raging waves forced the vessel into a sea wall, prompting the crew to abandon ship. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2110654/oil-leak-hato-hit-ship-hong-kong-discovery-bay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2110654/oil-leak-hato-hit-ship-hong-kong-discovery-bay?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Sep 2017 10:02:34 +0000 A deadly typhoon in Macau last month left behind not just catastrophic damage but a political undercurrent that could stir the legislative elections this coming Sunday. Fierce debates have been raging online on how votes should be cast to hold the government accountable. Angry residents have railed against its anaemic response after Typhoon Hato left 10 dead, scores injured, and many more without water and power for days in Asia’s biggest casino city. Questions on the political dividends to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2110561/macau-braces-itself-political-storm-wake-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2110561/macau-braces-itself-political-storm-wake-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Sep 2017 03:00:22 +0000 Climate change doubters like US President Donald Trump cannot deny that temperatures are rising and as a result, storms are becoming more dangerous. Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane for a decade, proves that. So too did Hurricane Harvey in Texas with its record-breaking downpours, Typhoon Hato’s devastating rains and winds in Macau, Guangdong and Hong Kong, and deluges that have caused so much loss of life and damage across South Asia and in Africa and Europe. In many cases, the deaths... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2110497/threat-storms-cannot-be-doubted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2110497/threat-storms-cannot-be-doubted?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Sep 2017 16:46:44 +0000 Hong Kong weather authorities have been reviewing data on Typhoon Hato, which wreaked havoc in the region last month, to see if the storm should in hindsight be reclassified as a super typhoon. Shun Chi-ming, director of the Hong Kong Observatory, said the strength of Hato, which killed 10 people in the nearby casino hub of Macau, was comparable to 1962 Super Typhoon Wanda, which left 130 people dead in Hong Kong and 72,000 homeless. Shun also warned on Saturday that there could be one or two... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2110458/hato-may-need-be-reclassified-super-typhoon-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2110458/hato-may-need-be-reclassified-super-typhoon-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Sep 2017 04:28:10 +0000 Military assistance to a local civilian government – commonly known as “Military Aid to the Civil Community” – usually occurs during times of natural calamity, when additional reserves of manpower, resources, logistical support and technical expertise are required to assist an overwhelmed civilian admin­istra­tion. Field Marshal Gerald Templer, in a famous speech delivered at the height of the Malayan Emergency, spoke of the importance of winning over “the hearts and minds” of the people, and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2110188/what-those-disparaging-pla-help-post-typhoon-macau-forget?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2110188/what-those-disparaging-pla-help-post-typhoon-macau-forget?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Sep 2017 16:00:32 +0000 Macau suffered an economic loss of 11.47 billion patacas (about US$1.42 billion), with small and medium enterprises alone reporting losses of 3.63 billion patacas, after the city took a major hit from Typhoon Hato last month. The deadly storm claimed at least 10 lives in the former Portuguese enclave, leaving almost half of the city without water and electricity, and bringing businesses and public transport to a standstill. Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on, who led department heads to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2110077/macau-suffers-us142-billion-economic-loss-wake-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2110077/macau-suffers-us142-billion-economic-loss-wake-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Sep 2017 01:06:25 +0000 As I left Manila recently, tropical storm Isang passed the Batanes area in the northern Philippines. When I flew to Guangzhou, the low-pressure area had morphed into a tropical depression and then into Typhoon Hato in the South China Sea. Hato caused widespread damage in Hong Kong, Macau and on mainland China, leaving 26 people dead, many more injured and billions of dollars of damage. Almost at the same time, Harvey was still classified as a tropical storm. Thanks to warm sea surface... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2110001/asias-poorer-nations-will-pay-highest-price-trumps-climate-u?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2110001/asias-poorer-nations-will-pay-highest-price-trumps-climate-u?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Sep 2017 08:14:47 +0000 Whether you buy into the building barrage of media babble inviting us to believe that the world is teetering on the brink of nuclear Armageddon, one thing is clear, the Korean war of words and warheads – the only casualty of which so far appears to be perspective – is drowning out coverage of the havoc visited on the planet by extreme weather. Three storms crashed through our little corner of the world in a two-week period, while at the same time torrential rain and floods killed 1,200 people... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2109786/there-hong-kong-macau-rivalry-lost-global-news-babble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2109786/there-hong-kong-macau-rivalry-lost-global-news-babble?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Sep 2017 04:06:33 +0000 Over the past week, most of the world seems to have been under water. Storms claimed to be the worst in 50 years have wrought havoc, death and disruption in Texas, Mumbai, Bihar, Nepal, Bangladesh – and of course here in Hong Kong and Macau. Before the cost to these economies – both economic and in terms of death, injury and dislocation – has even been estimated, governments wrestling to deal with and recover from these disasters have worked overtime to explain the shocking rarity of such... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2109500/flimsy-excuses-governments-when-theyre-caught-unprepared?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2109500/flimsy-excuses-governments-when-theyre-caught-unprepared?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2017 03:33:17 +0000 Natural disasters interrupt everyday politics. The calamities brought on by Mother Nature’s fury affect the health and livelihoods of entire communities. Stormy weather in different parts of the world, including Hong Kong and Macau, have made headlines in recent days. The devastation wrought suggests it is increasingly hard to draw a clear line between “natural” and “man-made” disasters, as these catastrophic events only magnify the consequences of the political and social choices we’ve... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109297/storms-bring-out-worst-governments-best-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109297/storms-bring-out-worst-governments-best-people?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2017 01:01:11 +0000 The two typhoons that ripped through Hong Kong, Macau and other parts of southern China last week is likely to cost insurers a record HK$1 billion (US$130 million) in physical damage claims, as well as those to compensate for business interruption. And the final bill might be added to soon, as another fierce weather front could sweep into the same area over the coming weekend. “The damage in Hong Kong wasn’t too big, but there was major property damage in Macau, the claims on which are likely to... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2109358/recent-typhoons-batter-insurers-record-us130m-payouts-and-there?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2109358/recent-typhoons-batter-insurers-record-us130m-payouts-and-there?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2017 00:02:48 +0000 Life on one of Hong Kong’s many outlying islands can be hard to beat when the sky is blue and the sun is out. But when typhoons strike, it isn’t much fun, says Dylan Bryant. The head of North Asia for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, and his family, call Peng Chau home – one of Hong Kong’s most popular island hideaways. He found himself marooned there again last week, as Tyhoons Hato and Pakhar swept ashore. The island’s local shops, schools and businesses were all closed, as they were right across... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2109364/how-living-island-inspired-creation-specialist-typhoon-insurance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2109364/how-living-island-inspired-creation-specialist-typhoon-insurance?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2017 00:00:45 +0000 Hong Kong firefighters have recalled a harrowing mission to rescue trapped residents in flood-hit areas last month as the biggest storm in five years slammed the region, injuring 130 people in the city and killing 10 in Macau. On August 23, Typhoon Hato, named after the Japanese word for pigeon, triggered the No 10 signal – the highest in Hong Kong’s storm warning system – and lashed the city with torrential rain and hurricane force winds. As Hato swept past the south of Hong Kong, floods... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2109452/heroes-hato-how-hong-kong-firemen-braved-floods?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2109452/heroes-hato-how-hong-kong-firemen-braved-floods?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Sep 2017 16:18:09 +0000 As the Pearl River Delta braces for Mawar, the third tropical storm to hit the region in two weeks, meteorologists say the country has seen more typhoons than usual this year, and they arrived earlier in the season. “Five typhoons are expected to intensify in September, with 1.8 making landfall in China,” said Liao Jun, deputy director of the contingency, disaster relief and public service department at the China Meteorological Administration. “We should keep a close watch for typhoons and not... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2109394/southern-china-seeing-more-typhoons-usual-year-another-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2109394/southern-china-seeing-more-typhoons-usual-year-another-way?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2017 14:00:00 +0000 Typhoon Hato destroyed a lot of vehicles on August 23. But it was the viral images of expensive, high-end cars battered and flooded by the storm’s force that made some drivers question the wisdom of owning luxury vehicles in storm-lashed Hong Kong. A particularly harrowing image for admirers of opulent cars was that of a half-submerged Lamborghini Gallardo in a Heng Fa Chuen car park, its sleek exterior covered in mud and debris dredged up by Hato. The forlorn state of the hapless supercar... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2109366/typhoon-hato-teaches-hong-kongs-luxury-car-owners-lesson?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2109366/typhoon-hato-teaches-hong-kongs-luxury-car-owners-lesson?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2017 10:00:45 +0000 Tropical depression Mawar, which is threatening to bring Hong Kong its third typhoon in only two weeks, is expected to be closest to the city on Sunday afternoon when it makes landfall in Shantou, eastern Guangdong, according to weather officials. Senior science officer Cheng Yuen-chung from the Hong Kong Observatory said the depression might intensify into a typhoon over the weekend, but whether it would trigger the signal No 8 warning depended on its strength as it edged closer to land. If... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2109261/hong-kong-set-typhoon-standby-third-time-two-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2109261/hong-kong-set-typhoon-standby-third-time-two-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2017 02:30:00 +0000 Disgruntled villagers on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island have demanded a full review of flood-prevention measures in Tai O, where tsunami-like waves destroyed homes during Typhoon Hato last week. The villagers, who were almost stranded by floodwater, debris and rubble strewn across paths and alleys in their coastal fishing settlement, were starting to get back to normal life thanks to dozens of volunteers pitching in to help the clean-up. But villagers were told to expect to wait for two or three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2109057/tai-o-villagers-urge-review-hong-kong-flood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2109057/tai-o-villagers-urge-review-hong-kong-flood?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Aug 2017 00:35:33 +0000 A day after he set up a top-level commission to investigate catastrophic failures during Typhoon Hato, Macau’s chief executive faced awkward questions about an almost identical body he set up five years earlier specifically to ­prevent such deadly chaos. It emerged that in late 2012, Fernando Chui Sai-on, leader of the world’s richest casino hub, established what in light of ­recent events might turn out to be the ironically named Council for the Treatment of ­Unforeseen Incidents. Macau pair... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2108857/wake-deadly-typhoon-macau-chief-executive-faces-tough-questions-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2108857/wake-deadly-typhoon-macau-chief-executive-faces-tough-questions-over?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Aug 2017 00:30:30 +0000 Macau may be the greatest gambling hub in the world but, as the havoc wreaked by Typhoon Hato has shown, its urban planning, facilities and infrastructure are subpar. Such problems are the responsibility of the whole government. You can hardly blame it all on its former observatory chief. The city certainly has the money to do better, because government cash giveaways from fiscal surpluses are virtually annual events. So what’s missing? Macau pair arrested for spreading false typhoon death... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/2108861/macau-cannot-afford-gamble-lives-its-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/2108861/macau-cannot-afford-gamble-lives-its-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Aug 2017 17:18:14 +0000 Macau police have arrested a brother and sister for spreading false information online claiming that bodies were found in a car park flooded during a recent storm, and authorities had tried to cover up the deaths. The 73-year-old businessman and his jobless sister, 68, were arrested in a flat in Areia Preta on Monday after they allegedly disseminated false information through a mobile messaging application. The messages claimed that five bodies, including a family of four killed inside a car,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108684/macau-pair-arrested-spreading-false-typhoon-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108684/macau-pair-arrested-spreading-false-typhoon-death?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Aug 2017 00:03:41 +0000 Graft busters in Macau are investigating the weather bureau’s forecasting procedures and management under the former director who quit last week after the worst storm to hit the casino hub in more than 50 years left 10 people dead. The Commission Against Corruption on Monday said it had launched a probe into possible irregularities, prompted by a “large number of complaints” that raised questions about the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau’s handling of Typhoon Hato. The storm caught the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2108680/weather-bureau-macau-faces-graft-probe-wake-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2108680/weather-bureau-macau-faces-graft-probe-wake-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Aug 2017 14:45:15 +0000 Life for Macau citizens was slowly returning to normal on Monday, but the city – five days after Typhoon Hato battered the region – is still facing a major struggle to collect and process tonnes of rubbish scattered across the streets. An official said the government was dealing with a “second wave of rubbish” as many homes only regained electricity over the weekend. Workers on the ground told the South China Morning Post that it could take at least a week to handle the volume of waste. Leong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108662/macau-clean-operation-after-deadly-storm-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108662/macau-clean-operation-after-deadly-storm-will?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Aug 2017 11:42:49 +0000 Judging by the way the Macau government handled severe tropical storm Pakhar, it seems to have learnt quickly from its errors with Typhoon Hato. The devastating impact of Hato on Macau was obvious and plunged the administration of Fernando Chui Sai-on into an unprecedented crisis. The deployment of the People’s Liberation Army to help clean up the garbage and debris left by Hato was necessary, to prevent further damage being inflicted by Pakhar, which followed close behind. In 2012, when invited... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2108608/eight-routes-better-typhoon-management-macau-pakhar-response?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2108608/eight-routes-better-typhoon-management-macau-pakhar-response?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Aug 2017 08:02:23 +0000 As Macau reeled from the impact of two major storms, most residents of the former Portuguese colony welcomed the presence of the People’s Liberation Army for clean-up operations, but some questioned the need for military boots on the streets. At the request of the Macau government, Chinese PLA troops of the local garrison had marched from their barracks to the streets of the gambling hub on Friday for the first time in history to help clean up in the aftermath of Typhoon Hato – the worst typhoon... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2108518/insulting-or-indispensable-pla-presence-macau-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2108518/insulting-or-indispensable-pla-presence-macau-typhoon-hato?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Aug 2017 02:15:45 +0000 Macau’s major casinos and hotels, still reeling from the city’s estimated US$216 million in economic losses caused by Typhoon Hato, are offering heavy discounts on room rates and fine dining, as they struggle to regain business. Tropical Storm Pakhar, making landfall on Sunday 80km away in Taishan, added to the mess that Macau must clean up and weighed on the city’s financial woes, even though no fatalities were reported in the second severe storm endured by the former Portuguese enclave in less... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2108523/macaus-storm-battered-casinos-and-hotels-roll-out-discounts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2108523/macaus-storm-battered-casinos-and-hotels-roll-out-discounts?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 15:45:30 +0000 Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar barrelled down on Hong Kong and Macau on Sunday, disrupting flights and transport in two cities that had barely recovered from the hammering inflicted by Typhoon Hato last week. One man was killed in a traffic accident and 62 people were injured in Hong Kong, after the Observatory upgraded the strong wind warning signal to No 8, from No 3, at 5.10am. A truck overturned on the Yuen Long Highway near the Shenzhen Bay Bridge before 7am. Its driver was thrown from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108521/pakhar-lands-second-punch-battered-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108521/pakhar-lands-second-punch-battered-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 15:30:45 +0000 Macau residents breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday after Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar swept past a city still grappling with the aftermath of a killer typhoon that struck just four days earlier. But many shop owners said they had nothing much to lose after their belongings and products were destroyed by Typhoon Hato, which hit the casino hub on Wednesday and claimed 10 lives. “The weather was not very bad this morning. It was a piece of cake compared to what we experienced earlier,” resident... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108520/nothing-much-lose-macau-residents-unfazed-pakhar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108520/nothing-much-lose-macau-residents-unfazed-pakhar?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 15:30:00 +0000 The havoc wreaked in Macau by Typhoon Hato had nothing to do with warning signals issued by authorities, a former head of the Hong Kong Observatory has said, amid accusations weather officials were to blame for the extent of the destruction in the casino hub. Lam Chiu-ying said the scale of the mess in the former Portuguese enclave had been dependent on other factors, including engineering and whether buildings were constructed to endure strong winds. “It was not fair for people to criticise... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108499/dont-blame-observatory-warning-signals-macaus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108499/dont-blame-observatory-warning-signals-macaus?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 10:08:15 +0000 When it comes to Hong Kong and Macau, it’s a tale of two cities that both can draw inspiration from for mutual reflection. While Macau successfully introduced its national security legislation in 2009, Hong Kong is still mired in endless debate over how and when to do it, despite Beijing’s constant reminders of the city’s constitutional obligation to safeguard national security under Article 23 of the Basic Law. And now, a historic new development has sparked very mixed feelings here: the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2108494/chinese-soldiers-helping-macau-after-typhoon-hato-offers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2108494/chinese-soldiers-helping-macau-after-typhoon-hato-offers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 09:00:45 +0000 Hong Kong escaped Typhoon Hato relatively unscathed, and luck wasn’t the only thing on our side. The city owes its readiness to previous experiences with deadly typhoons. In times like this, government responses become very real measures of its capacity and efficiency. Macau had neither Hong Kong’s luck nor disaster preparedness, and struggled to cope in Hato’s wake. The typhoon claimed at least nine lives and left the glitzy city without power and water for hours, disrupted telecommunications... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2108294/typhoon-battered-macau-has-no-excuse-its-poor-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2108294/typhoon-battered-macau-has-no-excuse-its-poor-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Aug 2017 01:33:50 +0000 Little Ip Jon-kei is standing at the entrance of his grandparents’ antique shop in Macau visibly confused at the brooms dancing around him. It is hard to imagine his thoughts about the chaos that unfolded in the Inner Harbour, one of the areas worst hit by Typhoon Hato on Wednesday. A jumble of rubbish, broken Chinese porcelain pots, piles of old and wet boxes, damaged vehicles and broken wooden furniture were scattered in the streets in the days after the storm. Ip’s world – at the age of two –... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108437/grieving-macau-residents-recount-horror-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108437/grieving-macau-residents-recount-horror-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Aug 2017 14:30:00 +0000 A No 3 warning signal has been issued for Macau as severe tropical storm after Pakhar arrived closer than expected to the casino city, still reeling from deadly Typhoon Hato. Macau’s Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau published a bulletin saying it had replaced its T8 signal, in effect from Sunday morning, with a lower No 3 signal at 1pm. The bureau also said there was a higher chance it would issue a red storm surge warning as wind speeds exceeding 70km per hour had been recorded. Pakhar... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2108435/many-macau-residents-still-without-power-second?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2108435/many-macau-residents-still-without-power-second?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Aug 2017 13:30:45 +0000