2nd storm hits Hong Kong and Macau amid typhoon recovery, Inquirer News

2nd storm hits Hong Kong and Macau amid typhoon recovery

Pedestrians fight with their umbrellas during strong winds and rain brought on by severe tropical storm Pakhar in Hong Kong on August 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Anthony WALLACE

A powerful storm lashed Hong Kong and Macau on Sunday, just days after a penalizing typhoon swept through the region and claimed at least eighteen lives.

Both cities raised a Typhoon eight signal – the third-highest warning level – early Sunday as severe tropical storm “Pakhar” (Philippine name “Jolina”) made landfall in the region, where emergency workers were still battling to repair Wednesday’s harm.

A total of two hundred six flights were cancelled and another four hundred seventy one delayed because of the latest storm, while forty four flights had to divert, Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said. Cathay Pacific, the city’s flagship, said “cancellations, diversions and severe delays” were expected.

All ferry services in Hong Kong were suspended until the storm warning was lowered in both cities in the early afternoon. Dozens of trees weakened by Wednesday’s typhoon were brought down by the latest storm.

No deaths were reported on Sunday but Hong Kong hospital officials said sixty two people were injured.

A Chinese cargo ship was burying east of Hong Kong Sunday morning but all eleven team members were rescued, the government flying service said.

Pakhar brought winds of up to one hundred thirty kilometers per hour to Hong Kong. Sunday is a holiday but on a working day the Typhoon eight signal would have meant the shutdown of the stock market, schools and businesses.

In Macau authorities issued fresh flooding warnings as shops that were battered Wednesday remained closed on Sunday morning. Traffic lights stayed blacked out with power yet to comeback to parts of the city.

The water supply has been restored, a Macau government statement said Sunday, but buildings with bruised pumps still lack water.

“This is rough but there is nothing we can do,” said shopowner Leung Chin-pang, who has been without water since the very first storm hit.

Pakhar – named after a freshwater fish in the lower Mekong sea – arrived as worst-hit Macau was still picking up the chunks following Typhoon Hato, the city’s strongest typhoon in fifty three years according to its government.

Hato, which triggered the most severe Typhoon ten warning, ripped through the gambling hub Wednesday, plunging casinos into darkness and causing disruptive floods.

The official death toll in Macau reached Ten, as the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese city faced recriminations over its lack of preparedness.

People pose for a selfie in front of Victoria Harbour during strong winds and rain brought on by severe tropical storm Pakhar in Hong Kong on August 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Anthony WALLACE

A further eight people are known to have died from Typhoon Hato in the neighboring mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, which Pakhar also reached mid-morning Sunday.

Dozens of visitors had returned to the main tourist attraction of Senado Square in Macau Sunday as the clean-up progressed.

Streets appeared cleaner after local residents of all ages and around 1,000 troops from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Macau garrison worked to clear piles of debris blocking the streets.

Four Hong Kong journalists covering the influence of the typhoon were barred entry into Macau Saturday on the grounds that they “threatened the stability of internal security”, according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

The group in a statement voiced “deep regret” over the incident and urged Macau’s authorities to respect press freedom.

Summer is typhoon season for the region including Hong Kong, which can practice storms of such severity that the entire city shuts down.

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2nd storm hits Hong Kong and Macau amid typhoon recovery, Inquirer News

2nd storm hits Hong Kong and Macau amid typhoon recovery

Pedestrians fight with their umbrellas during strong winds and rain brought on by severe tropical storm Pakhar in Hong Kong on August 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Anthony WALLACE

A powerful storm lashed Hong Kong and Macau on Sunday, just days after a penalizing typhoon swept through the region and claimed at least eighteen lives.

Both cities raised a Typhoon eight signal – the third-highest warning level – early Sunday as severe tropical storm “Pakhar” (Philippine name “Jolina”) made landfall in the region, where emergency workers were still battling to repair Wednesday’s harm.

A total of two hundred six flights were cancelled and another four hundred seventy one delayed because of the latest storm, while forty four flights had to divert, Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said. Cathay Pacific, the city’s flagship, said “cancellations, diversions and severe delays” were expected.

All ferry services in Hong Kong were suspended until the storm warning was lowered in both cities in the early afternoon. Dozens of trees weakened by Wednesday’s typhoon were brought down by the latest storm.

No deaths were reported on Sunday but Hong Kong hospital officials said sixty two people were injured.

A Chinese cargo ship was drowning east of Hong Kong Sunday morning but all eleven team members were rescued, the government flying service said.

Pakhar brought winds of up to one hundred thirty kilometers per hour to Hong Kong. Sunday is a holiday but on a working day the Typhoon eight signal would have meant the shutdown of the stock market, schools and businesses.

In Macau authorities issued fresh flooding warnings as shops that were battered Wednesday remained closed on Sunday morning. Traffic lights stayed blacked out with power yet to comeback to parts of the city.

The water supply has been restored, a Macau government statement said Sunday, but buildings with bruised pumps still lack water.

“This is raunchy but there is nothing we can do,” said shopowner Leung Chin-pang, who has been without water since the very first storm hit.

Pakhar – named after a freshwater fish in the lower Mekong sea – arrived as worst-hit Macau was still picking up the chunks following Typhoon Hato, the city’s strongest typhoon in fifty three years according to its government.

Hato, which triggered the most severe Typhoon ten warning, ripped through the gambling hub Wednesday, plunging casinos into darkness and causing ruinous floods.

The official death toll in Macau reached Ten, as the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese city faced recriminations over its lack of preparedness.

People pose for a selfie in front of Victoria Harbour during strong winds and rain brought on by severe tropical storm Pakhar in Hong Kong on August 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Anthony WALLACE

A further eight people are known to have died from Typhoon Hato in the neighboring mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, which Pakhar also reached mid-morning Sunday.

Dozens of visitors had returned to the main tourist attraction of Senado Square in Macau Sunday as the clean-up progressed.

Streets appeared cleaner after local residents of all ages and around 1,000 troops from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Macau garrison worked to clear piles of debris blocking the streets.

Four Hong Kong journalists covering the influence of the typhoon were barred entry into Macau Saturday on the grounds that they “threatened the stability of internal security”, according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

The group in a statement voiced “deep regret” over the incident and urged Macau’s authorities to respect press freedom.

Summer is typhoon season for the region including Hong Kong, which can practice storms of such severity that the entire city shuts down.

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to five gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call eight hundred ninety six 6000.

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