[1/4]A girl reads a book at a bookstore whose windows are taped in anticipation of Typhoon Saola in Hong Kong, China, August 31, 2023. Portal/Tyrone Siu Acquire License Rights
HONG KONG, Sept 1 (Portal) – Hong Kong braced for the arrival of Super Typhoon Saola on Friday as authorities raised the strong wind signal to No. 8, bringing the city to a standstill and closing most shops, schools and the stock exchange .
Three tropical cyclones have formed in the northwest Pacific and South China Sea, with Saola and Haikui already classified as typhoons, while Kirogi, the furthest from land, is still classified as a tropical storm, according to weather forecasts.
Saola is blowing winds of more than 200 km/h (125 mph) and is moving toward the coast east of Guangdong, the neighboring province on the Chinese mainland. It could be one of the five strongest typhoons to hit Guangdong since 1949, Chinese authorities said on Thursday as they issued their highest typhoon warning.
Saola is expected to pass closer to Hong Kong on Friday into Saturday morning, causing rapid deterioration in weather conditions, the city’s weather observatory said.
It could make landfall as a severe typhoon along the coast from Huidong to Taishan in Guangdong on Friday evening or Saturday morning, China’s National Meteorological Center said, while maintaining the highest typhoon red warning.
The Hong Kong Observatory said it would assess the need to issue higher cyclone warning signals later on Friday.
Hong Kong has five typhoon rankings: 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10, which corresponds to the strongest hurricane signal.
All schools in Hong Kong will remain closed on Friday, despite it being the first day of school for many, the government said. The nearby cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou also closed schools.
Fresh food markets in downtown Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district were crowded on Thursday afternoon as many vegetables were already sold out. There were long lines at supermarkets and people stocked up on supplies ahead of the storm.
The Hong Kong Observatory said it expected heavy rain and strong winds, while the city’s water levels were expected to “rise significantly” by Saturday, which could lead to severe flooding.
The city’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, said it had canceled all flights to and from Hong Kong between 2:00 p.m. (06:00 GMT) on Friday and 10:00 a.m. (02:00 GMT) on Saturday .
Due to the typhoon’s path on Saturday morning, there could be further flight delays and cancellations, it said.
The Macau Weather Observatory said it would raise the wind warning level to Signal 8 between 1 and 3 p.m. on Friday. Hurricane Signal 10 is expected to increase to its highest level early Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Haikui is approaching Taiwan and is expected to make landfall in the northern part of the island on Sunday before moving toward the southeastern Chinese city of Fuzhou, according to Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Bureau.
Reporting by Farah Master; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Bernard Orr, Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang in Beijing; Edited by Lincoln Feast and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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