- Experts note minimal flood damage, attributing result to storm weakening on its approach
- Some residents report buildings swaying in wind, while glass windows damaged at Lohas Park homes
A fallen tree blocks the path of bikers in Sha Tin in the aftermath of Saola. Photo: Sam TsangHong Kong on Saturday woke to fallen trees and debris on the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Saola, the first storm in five years to trigger the highest No 10 alert.
But there was minimal flood damage as experts noted the city was spared the worst impact from the storm.
Authorities had earlier warned that Saola, which approached Hong Kong on Friday as a super typhoon packing average wind speeds beyond 200km/h (124mph) near its eye, would bring havoc comparable to Mangkhut in September 2018.
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The No 10 typhoon warning signal, issued at 8.15pm on Friday, lasted more than seven hours before it was downgraded. The last time a No 10 alert was triggered was when Mangkhut struck, with the warning remaining in place for more than 10 hours.
The No 8 signal was downgraded to a No 3 warning at 4.20pm, the Observatory said.
Saola weakened and moved away from the city in the morning, revealing the trail of destruction it had left in its wake.
At least 86 people needed hospital treatment during the storm by 4pm and about 520 people sought refuge across 40 temporary shelters set up citywide. There were also two landslide reports.
Authorities received 1,545 reports of fallen trees by 4pm. Roads across the city were scattered with tree debris that caused brief disruption to traffic on major roads such as the Island Eastern Corridor and Gloucester Road in Wan Chai.
Service on the MTR’s East Rail line was suspended briefly on Saturday morning between the Fanling and University stations for debris to be cleared off the tracks.
A metal fence was found spread across all six lanes of Chatham Road South in Tsim Sha Tsui on Friday night.
A 20-metre (66 foot) metal fence outside the Kowloon West regional police headquarters in Ho Man Tin collapsed onto the pavement along Tin Kwong Road.
A 20-metre (66 foot) metal fence outside the Kowloon West regional police headquarters in Ho Man Tin collapsed onto the pavement along Tin Kwong Road.
Solar panels were blown off rooftops of high-rise residential buildings at multiple locations, including in Tsuen Wan and Cheung Sha Wan in Kowloon.
No 2 official Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on social media that the authorities would clear all main roads and bus routes in the city before 4pm on Saturday to ensure that the public could get back to normal as soon as possible.
Many residents of Lohas Park developments in Tseung Kwan O reported on social media constant swaying of their high-rise blocks. Some users said they suffered headaches and motion sickness, with a resident named Billy Kwan saying he had to “take a break” at the shopping centre downstairs.
The Buildings Department said on social media the phenomena was expected under a wind-effect code stipulated in design rules. A 100-metre-tall building, for instance, could sway up to 20cm (8 inches) horizontally, the maximum deviation allowed under the code.
Multiple Facebook users living in the same area also posted pictures of broken windows or cracked glass at home.
CLP Power said a malfunctioning overhead power line caused blackouts for about 20 minutes in 10 households in the rural area of Tso Kung Tam near Tsuen Wan. About 700 homes were still out of power as of 3pm Saturday, it said.
Weather stations across Hong Kong, including Central pier, recorded mean wind speeds in excess of 100km/h on Friday.
Green Island, west of Victoria Harbour, recorded wind speeds of about 140km/h. A weather station on Waglan Island, a remote land mass in the city’s southeastern waters and closest to the eye of the storm, recorded mean wind speeds of 160km/h at around 9.30pm.
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The storm surge appeared to be less severe than expected. The Observatory had previously predicted the water level at Tolo Harbour in eastern New Territories on Friday night to rise to a “historical” high of six metres above chart datum, or the original mark, which would indicate a storm surge of more than four metres.
But the water level at Tai Po Kau, within Tolo Harbour, eventually only peaked at 3.31 metres above chart datum – equivalent to a surge of 1.42 metres – on Friday night. The same station saw a water level of up to 4.71 metres above chart datum during Mangkhut in 2018.
Minor flooding occurred along a riverside cycling track along Shing Mun River in Sha Tin after 10pm on Friday, similar to what was observed earlier in the day. A yacht was also found stranded near a pier along Lung Mei Beach in Tai Po.
Hong Kong Meteorological Society spokesman Leung Wing-mo said he had observed considerable weakening of Saola on its final approach to Hong Kong, which might explain the smaller storm surge.
“Saola’s much smaller circulation [compared with Mangkhut] and its movement parallel to the coastline have all contributed to the strength of storm surges,” Leung said.
The Drainage Services Department confirmed 21 flooding reports as of 4pm on Saturday. The Observatory said water levels at Tai O and Tsim Bei Tsui would rise to some three metres above chart datum around noon on Saturday.
Yau Tong West district councillor Lui Tung-hai told the Post around midday that the situation was better than had been feared.
“Overall my feeling is that the situation is not too bad, there aren’t too many branches and debris on the road,” he said. “Besides three large trees collapsing, the roads are fairly clean, it is not bad compared with the past. There were also not many instances of flooding.”
Lui pointed out there would usually be problems with water entering people’s houses, as well as homes being damaged, but he did not encounter many such cases this time around.
The fishing village of Tai O on Lantau Island had “a close call”, rural committee vice-chairman So Kwong said.
“We are okay, overall, we do not have any big problems,” he said just after noon.
“The water level is also not as high as during typhoons Mangkhut or Hato.”
Mangkhut uprooted more than 60,000 trees across Hong Kong and triggered record storm surges. It also wrecked many coastal communities, including Tseung Kwan O, Heng Fa Chuen and Shek O.