Rains from Typhoon Wipha batter Hong Kong as it heads for mainland China

HONG KONG – Rains from Typhoon Wipha pounded Hong Kong on Sunday as the storm skirted southwards before making landfall on the coast of China’s Guangdong province, leaving fallen trees and scaffolding and sending over 200 people to seek refuge at temporary shelters.

Hong Kong’s weather authorities downgraded the typhoon warning to a No. 3 strong wind signal at 7:45 p.m.

Just after 4 p.m., they had lowered the typhoon signal in the Asian financial hub to 8 from the maximum of 10, which had been hoisted for nearly seven hours.

“Compared to previous typhoons like Mangkhut and Hato, which caused much more astonishing destruction, the impact this time was primarily limited to fallen trees and collapsed scaffolding,” Eastern District councillor Kenny Yuen told Reuters.

He was speaking in front of collapsed bamboo scaffolding that had fallen from a residential compound under renovation in North Point near the city’s harbour and been swept onto the road.

As the storm passed Hong Kong, more than 110 mm (4 inches) of rain fell within three hours and maximum wind gusts had exceeded 167 kph (103 mph) at some points.

In a statement, the government said 26 people sought treatment in public hospitals during the typhoon, while 253 flocked to its shelters, and 471 fallen trees were reported.

Wipha moved westward and made landfall on the coast of Taishan city in Guangdong at around 5:50 p.m., and then weakened to a severe tropical storm, China’s state-run CCTV reported.

Authorities in neighbouring Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub, also downgraded the typhoon signal to 8 from 10, warning of flooding in its inner harbour area and urging residents to stay safe, public broadcaster TDM said.

Hong Kong’s airport authority said 80,000 travellers were hit by the rescheduling of 400 flights forced by the typhoon.

Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), opens new tab cancelled all flights with Hong Kong airport between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. It waived ticket-change fees and arranged for rebooking.