While many (including us) were thankful to Typhoon Merbok for basically shaving an hour off the working day yesterday, the tropical cyclone has left more than a little damage in its wake after it made landfall late last night.
According to the Hospital Authority (HA), a total of 10 people — three men and seven women, aged 43 to 71 — were admitted to the A&E wards of public hospitals as a result of the typhoon by 4:40am. Less than an hour later, a family of three and their cab driver sustained minor injuries when the taxi they were in slipped and crashed on the way to the airport.
Even if the family made it to the airport, there’s no guarantee they would have got on their flights — the Airport Authority reported at 5am that a total of 44 flights were canceled and another 350 flights were delayed because of Typhoon Merbok.
As of 4:30am, a total of 239 people had sought refuge at the Home Affairs Department’s temporary shelters due to the weather conditions, and the government had received 20 reports of fallen trees. According to a government press release, no floods or landslides have been reported so far.
While the T8 signal was lowered at 4:40am, the Tropical Cyclone No. 3 Warning, meaning that winds with speeds of 41 to 62 kilometers per hour are expected, is still in force. Concurrently, the Observatory has also hoisted both the Thunderstorm Warning Signal and the Red Rainstorm Warning Signal, the latter of which means that heavy rain exceeding 50 millimeters an hour has fallen or is expected to fall generally over Hong Kong.
As of 11am, Typhoon Merbok was estimated to be around 240 kilometers north-northeast of Hong Kong, and is forecast to continue moving across Guangdong at a rate of 18 kilometers per hour while gradually weakening. The tropical cyclone’s rainbands, however, are still bringing heavy rain and squalls to Hong Kong. As always, avoid shorelines and be mindful of road conditions when traveling.
The Education Bureau has announced that classes of all AM, PM, and whole-day kindergartens, schools for children with physical disability and schools for children with intellectual disability are suspended today.
