Hong Kong axes flights, classes as Typhoon Wipha nears
Flight status displayed on an information board at the Hong Kong International Airport on July 19, 2025.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong issued its third-highest tropical cyclone warning in the early hours of July 20 as Typhoon Wipha drew nearer, with authorities cancelling classes and grounding hundreds of flights.
Wipha was located around 280km south-east of Hong Kong as of midnight, according to Hong Kong's weather observatory.
The observatory has hoisted the T8 warning signal, meaning that 'winds with mean speeds of 63kph or more are expected'.
The storm was expected to keep intensifying, moving across the northern part of the South China Sea and edging closer to the coast of China's Guangdong province.
'There will be frequent heavy squally showers and thunderstorms over the region. Seas will be high with swells,' the observatory added.
China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces were also put on high alert, state news agency Xinhua reported on July 19.
More than 250 flights servicing Hong Kong had been cancelled as of late July 19, according to the website of the city's international airport.
Hong Kong's Airport Authority asked travellers to prepare for 'significant flight cancellations or delays' and said that no passenger flights are expected to depart the city before noon on July 20.
Authorities suspended July 20's classes at all day schools and daycare centres.
Bus services are expected to be halted until midday July 20.
Wipha brought heavy rains and flooding to the Philippines and two people have been reported missing, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Monsoon rains set off massive flooding in Philippine capital region
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Life in metropolitan Manila ground to a halt on July 21 as torrential rains inundated the capital region. MANILA – Floodwaters driven by torrential rains ground life in the Philippine capital to a halt on July 22, with tens of thousands evacuated from their homes and at least two people believed missing. Schools and government offices in metropolitan Manila and the surrounding provinces were closed after a night of rain that saw the region's Marikina River burst its banks. More than 23,000 people living along the river were evacuated overnight, sheltering in schools, village halls and covered courtyards. Another 25,000 more were evacuated in the metropolitan area's Quezon and Caloocan cities. 'Usually, these people are from low-lying areas like beside creeks (feeding into the river),' according to Mr Wilmer Tan, of the Marikina rescue office, who said the river reached 18m in height. An elderly woman and her driver were swept down a swollen creek as they attempted to cross a bridge in Caloocan, said Mr John Paul Nietes, an emergency operations centre assistant supervisor. 'Their car was recovered last night. The rescue operation is continuing, but as of today, they haven't found either of them,' he said. 'The car window was broken, so the hope is that they were able to escape.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'poreans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore 2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work World Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving Floodwaters were receding early on July 22, though thousands of people remained unable to return to their homes. Ongoing monsoon rains have killed at least three people and left another seven missing in the central and southern Philippines since Tropical Storm Wipha skirted the country on July 18, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. At least 20 storms or typhoons strike or come near the Philippines each year, with the country's poorest regions typically the hardest hit. Deadly and destructive storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change. 'This is hard because, if the rain will continue, the river will swell,' Manila street sweeper Avelina Lumangtad, 61, said, as she stood next to a flooded thoroughfare. 'The floods are dangerous.' AFP
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Changi Airport's passenger traffic crosses 17.5 million mark in Q2 2025
Find out what's new on ST website and app. SINGAPORE – Changi Airport handled 17.5 million passenger movements from April to June 2025, 5.9 per cent more than the figure recorded in the same period in 2024. This marked a 4 per cent increase from the number of passenger movements recorded in the second quarter of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. These latest statistics were released by airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) in a press release on July 22. The airport handled 5.78 million passenger movements in April, 5.82 million in May and 5.88 million in June, according to passenger traffic figures published on Changi Airport's website. China was Changi Airport's biggest market in the second quarter of 2025 by passenger traffic, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and India, said CAG. Traffic between Singapore and China registered a 15.8 per cent year-on-year increase, while traffic between Indonesia grew 12 per cent in the second quarter of 2025. In January, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the authorities expect traffic volumes at Changi Airport in 2025 to exceed pre-pandemic levels . Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'poreans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore 2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work World Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving Changi Airport handled 67.7 million passengers in 2024, 99.1 per cent of the record 68.3 million handled in 2019. Mr Lim Ching Kiat, CAG's executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development, said the airport continues to see healthy growth in passenger traffic from April to June 2025. Noting that traffic to and from China and Indonesia recorded particularly strong growth in the second quarter of 2025, Mr Lim said this demonstrates Changi Airport's ongoing efforts to boost travel demand in the region. There were 93,600 aircraft movements – which include landings and take-offs – at Changi Airport in the first quarter of 2025, up 4.9 per cent from the same period in 2024. In the second quarter of 2025, Changi Airport was linked to new cities, including Vienna in Austria, Kota Bharu in Malaysia and Nha Trang in Vietnam. Following Singapore-based budget carrier JetStar Asia's closure on July 31, two of four routes to the destinations previously served exclusively by the airline – Okinawa in Japan and Labuan Bajo in Indonesia – will be operated by Scoot starting some time between October 2025 and March 2026. China's Juneyao Air will also take over the former Qantas subsidiary's services between Singapore and Wuxi in China from Aug 29. But connectivity to Broome in Australia remains lost with the closure of JetStar Asia. As at July 1, some 100 airlines operate over 7,200 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to about 170 cities in 50 countries and territories worldwide. CAG noted that T'Way Air, Philippine Airlines, Myanmar National Airlines and Myanmar Airways International will be operating from Terminal 2 in the coming months from July, as part of efforts to optimise resources across the airport's terminals. T'Way Air and Myanmar National Airlines currently operate from Terminal 3, while Philippine Airlines and Myanmar Airways International run services from Terminal 1.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US will soon charge most travellers an extra $310 in ‘visa integrity fee'
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The Department of Homeland Security is instituting the new fee to fund the Trump administration's border control initiatives. Tourists travelling to the United States will soon have to pay a new 'visa integrity fee' of at least US$250 (S$320), on top of existing visa application costs, under US President Donald Trump's recently enacted 'big, beautiful Bill'. The fee will apply to many leisure and business travellers, international students and other temporary visitors who are required to obtain non-immigrant visas. Nearly 11 million of these were issued in 2024, according to U.S. State Department figures. However, citizens of more than 40 countries in the US Visa Waiver Programme, including Singapore, may be exempt from the fee. The US$250 fee covers fiscal year 2025, which began on Oct 1, 2024, and ends on Sept 30, 2025. It may subsequently be adjusted for inflation. Travellers who do not overstay their time or participate in unauthorised work while in the US may be eligible for reimbursement once the visa expires. But with many visas valid for years and no system currently in place for processing refunds, the fee will likely be non-refundable. Immigration lawyer Steven Brown, a partner at Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown, characterised the fee as a 'refundable security deposit' in a recent post about the new policy. The mechanism for refunds, though, is still unclear, and the Department of Homeland Security, the agency instituting the fee, has yet to offer specifics about the process. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'poreans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 World Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Life '+60 points for following crowd measures': Singaporeans jump on viral 'aura farming' trend Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work World US not rushing trade deals ahead of August deadline, will talk with China, Bessent says A spokesman for the US Travel Association, a national nonprofit organisation aimed at increasing travel to and within the US, told CNBC Travel 'there is no timeline for implementation of the fee or direction as to how the fee will be collected and refunded'. Mr Erik Hansen, a senior vice-president at the association, said the new fee 'adds an unnecessary financial barrier for international visitors'. The association estimates that the fee will boost the 'upfront costs' of visiting the US by 144 per cent. 'Even if it is technically reimbursable, the added complexity and cost will discourage visitors,' Mr Hansen said. A single tourist visa for a family of four could now include US$1,000 in visa integrity fees alone. The fee also applies to international student and employment-based visas. A student visa currently costs around US$500, while an employer hiring an H-1B worker already pays a US$780 application fee and a US$500 anti-fraud fee.
