Latest news with #TyphoonWipha
South China Morning Post
22 minutes ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong back in full swing after Typhoon Wipha as businesses assess damage
Hong Kong was back in full swing on Monday despite some heavy rain, with the airport clearing about 1,000 storm-delayed flights and businesses assessing the economic damage after Typhoon Wipha triggered the first No 10 signal in two years over the weekend. The Hong Kong Observatory warned that showers and squally thunderstorms would continue to affect the city over the next few days under the influence of the outer rainbands of Wipha, which had weakened into a tropical depression. Wipha was the fifth typhoon to trigger the highest-level No 10 signal in the past two decades. However, the maximum average wind speed near its centre, 140km/h, was among the lowest recorded. 'While Wipha, as a typhoon, was not as strong as Saola in 2023, which became a super typhoon when it came close to Hong Kong, the strength of their periphery winds was in fact similar,' Observatory senior scientific officer Lee Shuk-ming said. 03:16 Typhoon Wipha: Hong Kong emerges with dozens hurt, tens of thousands of travellers frustrated Typhoon Wipha: Hong Kong emerges with dozens hurt, tens of thousands of travellers frustrated Economists estimated that the city could have suffered economic losses of as much as HK$2 billion (US$255 million) on Sunday alone based on gross domestic product statistics.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
How insurance can help Hong Kong homeowners weather a typhoon's aftermath
Experts have stressed the importance of buying insurance coverage for the structure and content of Hongkongers' homes after a Cheung Sha Wan flat's window wall was among those shattered when Typhoon Wipha struck the city. Selina Lau Pui-ling, CEO of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, on Monday called on flat owners to ensure that their homes were insured to reduce financial losses, especially as extreme weather could become more common in the coming years. Wipha struck the city on Sunday, triggering the top-level No 10 typhoon warning as the maximum average wind speed near its centre reached 140km/h (87mph). The Buildings Department said on Monday that it had received 25 reports of accidents linked to the typhoon, most of which involved windows being blown out. The tropical cyclone reportedly smashed a two-by-1.5-metre (6.6-by-4.9-foot) window wall at a flat at The Pacifica private housing estate at the height of the typhoon. In a video provided by the resident, a gaping hole can be seen from outside the flat, with broken glass scattered nearby. A mattress can also be seen temporarily covering the hole.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
China hit by multiple storms, floods, and heatwaves as Typhoon Wipha makes landfall
Multiple storms and a severe heatwave have swept across China, killing dozens, damaging infrastructure and disrupting travel as authorities brace for more heavy rain and rising temperatures. Typhoon Wipha made landfall in southern Guangdong province on Sunday evening, battering cities like Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming with winds of over 118kmph and dumping torrential rain that uprooted trees, triggered landslides and left thousands without power. The system also disrupted travel across the Pearl River Delta, grounding more than 900 flights in Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. Hong Kong was briefly placed under its maximum typhoon warning as gusts exceeded 167kmph and scaffolding collapsed in parts of the city. Authorities reported 471 fallen trees and at least 26 injuries linked to the storm. Hong Kong's airport authority said 80,000 travellers were hit by the rescheduling of 400 flights forced by the typhoon. By Sunday night, the typhoon weakened to a severe tropical storm as it moved inland, but the threat of flooding and landslides persisted across southern China, including Guangxi and Hainan. Local forecasters warned that the system could re-intensify over the Gulf of Tonkin before making landfall in northern Vietnam. Meanwhile, torrential rain continued across parts of China already inundated by earlier storms. In July alone, flooding, landslides and storm surges have affected millions across coastal provinces, including Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi. A separate set of storms triggered flash floods in Henan and Gansu last week, where rivers burst their banks, buildings collapsed, and at least seven people were killed or reported missing. The Ministry of Emergency Management said China's first-half disaster toll included at least 307 people dead or missing, over 23 million affected residents, and more than $7.6bn in economic damage, with the bulk caused by weather-related events. While southern regions battled floods, other parts of China faced record-breaking heat. Temperatures soared to 46C in Xi'an this month, with surface readings exceeding 70C in some cities. Red alerts were issued in provinces including Shaanxi and Yunnan, prompting cooling shelters and curbs on outdoor work as electricity demand hit historic highs. The National Meteorological Centre has warned of continued extreme weather through July and August, China's typical peak season for typhoons and floods. Chen Min, China's vice-minister of water resources, warned at a news conference earlier this month that the 'global trend of climate warming is evident' in China. 'In recent years, more frequent, intense and widespread extreme weather events have led to more abrupt, severe and abnormal disasters such as heavy rainfall, floods and droughts,' he said. Meanwhile, monsoon continued to create mayhem in South Korea in the east and Indian subcontinent in the west. At least 18 people have died and 9 were missing after five days of record-breaking rain triggered flash floods and landslides in South Korea. Over 14,000 people have been evacuated nationwide, and the government has dispatched thousands of troops for recovery work. In Gapyeong, one man died after calling his wife to say his car was being swept away, while entire villages in Sancheong were buried in mudslides. In India, intense rainfall and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have killed at least 140 people since late June. Roads, bridges and homes have been swept away in mountain districts, with cloudbursts triggering deadly flash floods. In Nepal, a glacial lake outburst on the Chinese border on 8 July sent a wall of water downstream, destroying the Friendship Bridge, submerging vehicles, and killing at least nine people. Nineteen others remain missing. Pakistan has also suffered one of its deadliest monsoons since the devastating floods of 2022. More than 200 people have died, including dozens of children, and over 560 have been injured in rain-related incidents since June 26, with Punjab province the worst affected.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong ‘lucky' to have escaped greater damage from Typhoon Wipha: experts
Typhoon Wipha could have caused more damage if its trajectory had moved northwards and edged even closer to Hong Kong, two meteorological experts have said, calling it 'pure luck' that the impact was not greater. A No 8 typhoon signal or above was in force for 19 hours on Sunday, including seven hours for the No 10 hurricane warning, before the Hong Kong Observatory downgraded it to No 3 at 7.40pm, and further lifted all signals at 5.10am on Monday. Over 700 reports of fallen trees were received and at least 33 people were sent to public hospitals as Wipha battered Hong Kong on Sunday, triggering the highest No 10 hurricane warning for seven hours. The toll was relatively mild compared with Super Typhoon Saola in 2023, which also triggered a No 10 warning. At least 86 people were sent to hospital during that storm, which also resulted in 1,545 fallen trees and two landslides. Former Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying said Hong Kong was fortunate that Wipha did not have a greater impact on most residents, even though it reached hurricane levels of wind velocity on Sunday when the No 10 signal was issued. 'If the typhoon track moved 10km (6 miles) to 20km northwards, the whole of the Victoria Harbour area would be affected by level 12 hurricane winds as many live on the two sides of the harbour,' Lam said. 'It was pure luck. It would have been much worse.' He said Wipha, a woman's name in Thai meaning 'splendour' or 'radiance', followed a 'textbook' route of how typhoons typically moved, with a well-defined pattern that enabled earlier and more accurate predictions. Confidence in the forecast was boosted by the use of different models.
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
Storms hit southern China in wake of Typhoon Wipha
Typhoon Wipha brushed past Hong Kong yesterday, where it felled trees and scaffolding. (AP pic) BEIJING : Storms drenched southern parts of the Chinese mainland today, triggering warnings of flash floods and landslides, a day after Typhoon Wipha pounded Hong Kong. Heavy rain lashed the cities of Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming in China's southern province Guangdong after the storm system made landfall yesterday evening. Yesterday it brushed past Hong Kong where it felled trees and scaffolding, grounded flights and sent nearly 280 people into shelters. China's national forecaster said Wipha had weakened to a tropical storm upon landfall, and forecast it would skirt the coast of Guangdong and move towards Vietnam. Heavy rain is forecast for mainland China's coastal regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Fujian provinces until tomorrow morning, with warnings of flash floods, landslides and wind hazards. Floods exceeding warning levels occurred in 20 rivers across the country due to Wipha, state broadcaster CCTV cited the water resources ministry as saying today. But many areas doused in heavy rainfall have recovered from the impact quickly, CCTV said. Authorities had enforced traffic controls at major expressways connecting the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai to Hong Kong as well as at ports, and these were lifted by last night. Train services disrupted by the storm were also gradually resumed throughout today. The public was advised to remain vigilant about any secondary disasters, CCTV said during the noon bulletin today. The system will move into the Gulf of Tonkin late this morning, over which it will gather intensity before hitting Vietnam's northern coast, the Chinese forecaster said. Ahead of Wipha's expected landfall early tomorrow, Vietnam put coastal provinces on emergency footing, warning of potentially dangerous flooding and landslides. Vietnam's prime minister sent an urgent message to coastal regions last night to call boats ashore, evacuate people from flood-prone areas, prepare food supplies and rescue equipment and secure communication infrastructure. Dozens of flights were also cancelled or rescheduled as airlines in the country braced for the typhoon.
