logo
Hong Kong issues highest storm alert as Typhoon Wipha moves in

Hong Kong issues highest storm alert as Typhoon Wipha moves in

The Star4 days ago
Dark clouds gather and rough seas are seen in Victoria harbour as the typhoon signal number 10 is hoisted as Typhoon Wipha moves towards Hong Kong on July 20, 2025. - Photo: AFP
HONG KONG: Hong Kong raised its storm alert to the highest level as tropical cyclone Wipha moved closer, with Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. delaying and cancelling flights in and out of the city on Sunday (July 20).
The Hong Kong Observatory lifted the signal to No. 10 at 9.20am local time.
Wipha is expected to pass the city about 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the south, with wind speeds of 118 kilometers an hour, the weather agency said on its website.
The maximum alert, which was last issued in 2023, is set to remain in force for "some time,' it said.
Wipha will skirt around 50km to the south of the observatory, the warning showed. - Photo: Reuters
All flights scheduled to arrive at or depart from the Hong Kong International Airport between 5am and 6pm were either delayed or canceled, the Cathay said in a statement.
The company will rebook alternatives for affected customers.
Airport Authority Hong Kong said on its website that operations are expected to be affected by the typhoon and that it has activated its emergency center.
The Education Bureau suspended all special classes and other school events on Sunday.
Workers braving strong winds as Typhoon Wipha approaches in Hong Kong, on July 20. - Photo: Reuters
In neighbouring Macau, the government planned to raise its alert to the No. 10 signal at 12.30pm local time, according to the Government Information Bureau's website.
Major hotels in the city including the Venetian, the Parisian, the Londoner and the Four Seasons plan to remain open.
Hong Kong last raised its No. 10 signal in September 2023 when it was pummeled by Typhoon Saola, which caused flooding across the territory.
The city's stock exchange ended its decades-old tradition of shutting during storms of signal No. 8 or above last year.
The practice had became increasingly questioned during the pandemic, when widespread work-from-home setups showed little hindrance to trading.
Dark clouds gather and rough seas are seen in Victoria harbour as the typhoon signal number 10 is hoisted as Typhoon Wipha moves towards Hong Kong on July 20, 2025. - Photo: AFP
In Vietnam, 38 people died in Halong Bay, in the northern part of the country after a boat capsized on Saturday afternoon amid bad weather, according to a post on the Vietnamese government's website.
Dozens of flights were canceled and rerouted as the storm was forecast to hit Vietnam's northern provinces from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa, according to a separate post on the government's website.
The Philippines' government, meanwhile, warned heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters (7.87 inches) may persist until Tuesday in the main island of Luzon.
Three people were left dead by the storm, three are missing, while more than 370,000 persons were affected. - Bloomberg
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Danish police evacuate music festival amid heavy rain
Danish police evacuate music festival amid heavy rain

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Danish police evacuate music festival amid heavy rain

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danish police evacuated a music festival on Thursday and warned people in the west coast city of Esbjerg to stay indoors amid flooding caused by a cloudburst. "Heavy rain came and we assessed that it was necessary to shut down the concert," a police spokesperson said. Police had initiated the evacuation of some 20,000 people, he said, adding there were no reports of injuries. Festival organisers said on Facebook that the rest of Thursday's programme would be cancelled due to safety concerns. Broadcasters DR and TV showed images of cars in Esbjerg that were partly submerged, and people wading through water in the city of around 71,500 inhabitants. "It is advised against going outside. Unnecessary driving is discouraged," the police said in a post on social media X. Several parts of the Scandinavian region are currently subject to flood warnings. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Ed Osmond)

Philippines shuts schools, scraps flights as Typhoon Co-May nears
Philippines shuts schools, scraps flights as Typhoon Co-May nears

Borneo Post

time2 hours ago

  • Borneo Post

Philippines shuts schools, scraps flights as Typhoon Co-May nears

Residents wade through a flooded street after heavy rains in Dagupan City, Pangasinan province, north of Manila on July 24, 2025. – AFP photo MANILA (July 24): The Philippines shut down schools and cancelled flights today as typhoon-driven rains pounded the northern island of Luzon, a situation President Ferdinand Marcos called 'the new normal'. Typhoon Co-May, upgraded from a tropical storm overnight, follows days of monsoon rains that have killed at least 19 people and left another 11 missing across the archipelago since July 18, according to the national disaster agency. With maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres per hour, the typhoon was expected to make landfall on the west coast in either La Union or Ilocos Sur province by Friday morning, the country's weather service said. Marcos said today that climate change meant Filipinos needed to be thinking about how to adapt to a 'new normal'. 'This is not an extraordinary situation anymore… This will be our lives no matter what we do,' he told a televised cabinet briefing, adding the country should plan for the long-term in addressing natural disasters. 'This is the way it's going to be as far as we know for… many decades to come, so let's just prepare,' he said. 'We have to understand that the climate has changed, the rain patterns have changed,' he added, pointing to recent devastating flooding in the US state of Texas. Around 70 domestic and international flights in the Philippines were cancelled today due to the storms, the civil aviation authority said. The government later announced that classes across Luzon would remain suspended through Friday. Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters that swamped some neighbourhoods in waist-deep water and left residents of nearby provinces stranded and in need of rescue by boat. As of today, at least several thousand people in Manila remained unable to return to their homes. 'We cannot send them home yet because it is still raining and some typhoons are still expected to affect the country,' Ria Mei Pangilinan, a rescue coordinator in the capital, told AFP. 'There might be more (evacuees) if the rain does not stop.' Typhoon Co-May was about 105 kilometres off the country's west coast as of 8pm (1200 GMT). – AFP Philippines Typhoon Co-May

Typhoon May strengthen on track toward the northern Philippines; govt expects crops to be impacted badly
Typhoon May strengthen on track toward the northern Philippines; govt expects crops to be impacted badly

The Star

time4 hours ago

  • The Star

Typhoon May strengthen on track toward the northern Philippines; govt expects crops to be impacted badly

Residents wade through a flooded street after heavy rains in Dagupan City, Pangasinan province, north of Manila on Monday,July 24, 2025. The Philippines shut down schools and cancelled flights on July 24 as torrential rains driven by a typhoon and a separate tropical storm pounded the country's northern island of Luzon. -- Photo by AFP MANILA (Bloomberg: A typhoon moving toward northern Philippines may intensify further before making landfall as early as tonight, with heavy rain and strong winds likely to impact some rice and corn crops. Typhoon Co-may - known locally as Emong - has slowed and is sitting to the west of Dagupan, a small city about three hours drive northwest of the capital Manila, according to an advisory from the national weather agency. The storm was packing top sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour. The cyclone may undergo rapid intensification as it moves toward Luzon Island, and potentially reach peak intensity of as high as 185 kilometers per hour, the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. That would be equivalent to a major Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Government work and classes in the Philippines will be shut for a fifth straight day on Friday in the capital region and dozens of provinces as heavy rains continue, according to Department of Interior and Local Government. The Philippines has already racked up 454 million pesos ($8 million) in crop losses from the combined effects of an earlier cyclone, the developing Co-may, another tropical storm to its north, as well as the southwest monsoon, according to data from the agriculture department. The country sees an average of 20 cyclones a year, with eight or nine making landfall. Last year, a blitz of six powerful storms hit the Philippines within a matter of weeks, sapping economic growth and causing widespread agriculture losses. Rice harvesting started this month and collection of the corn crop typically begins in August, according to the US Foreign Agricultural Service. The Philippines is the world's biggest rice importer and any damage to domestic crops could force the nation to seek more supply from overseas. The outer bands of Co-may are expected to dump rain across a large part of Luzon Island, and the Philippines Civil Aviation Authority has reported a number of domestic and international flight cancellations. "Every day there are rains, so the soil is saturated,' state weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio told local radio station DZMM. "It means there's a high chance of floods and landslides.' -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store