Taiphoon Haima
Excerpted from www.scmp.com (South China Morning Post), Thursday, 10/20/16, 10:00AM
Hong Kong awoke to yet another typhoon standby signal No 1 on Thursday morning as Tropical Cyclone Haima edged within 800km of the city, with the possibility of the more serious strong wind signal No 3 expected to be issued tonight.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Observatory has issued a rare notice to the public not to believe “fictitious” weather information and forecasts spreading on internet forums or social media.
The official standby signal was issued at 8.20am on Thursday, after two days of torrential downpours and flash floods brought on by Typhoon Sarika, which is now moving away from the region. The rains on Wednesday, brought by the northeast monsoon at the tail end of Sarika, caused serious road flooding and traffic congestion across Hong Kong.
An MTR spokeswoman said 13 intercity through trains between Hong Kong and the mainland scheduled for Friday had been suspended. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong airport live flight information board showed at least 54 departure and 52 arrival flights scheduled for Friday were also cancelled. Cancelled flight destinations included Taipei, Shanghai and Jakarta, New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, several container ports announced a suspension of some of their operations. Hongkong International Terminals said its terminals 4, 6, 7 and 9 as well as its two of its depots would be suspended from 2pm Thursday. Modern Terminals announced it would suspend laden return and release from noon Thursday and empty return and release at 2pm.
The weather in Hong Kong is expected to “deteriorate significantly”, with frequent squalls, heavy rain and seas rough with swells as the rainbands associated with Haima hover over the territory.
“Members of the public should remain vigilant and take all precautions as early as possible,” Kong said.
Typhoon Haima slams Philippines
Excerpted from www.wbaltv.com, 10/20/16 1:15AM
Typhoon expected to hit as many as 2.7 million people
Winds of 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph) prior to arrival put it on par with a Category 4 hurricane, the center said. It’s expected to affect as many as 2.7 million people in seven provinces before veering northwest toward the Chinese coast by Friday.
Haima is now heading towards China, where work teams have already been deployed to Guangdong province in anticipation of its arrival, according to Xinhua.
At its peak, Haima packed winds of up to 315 kilometers per hour (195 mph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
