Pedestrians in the central business district during a No. 8 storm signal raised for Super Typhoon Saola in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. Hong Kong is bracing for what may be the strongest storm to hit the city in at least five years as Super Typhoon Saola heads straight toward the financial hub. - Bloomberg
HONG KONG (Bloomberg): Hong Kong hunkered down on Friday as officials and residents prepared for the impact of Super Typhoon Saola, which is forecast to hit the city toward the end of the day.
The government issued the No. 8 storm signal - the third-highest - at 2:40 a.m. and warned it may raise higher signals. The stock market will be closed on Friday, schools won’t open and most public transportation will be grounded. Many flights will be canceled.
The storm, which was 210 km (130 miles) away from the financial hub at 10 a.m., currently has sustained winds of 210 km/hour near the center, according to the local observatory. That makes it as strong as a category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.
"As Saola continues to edge closer to Hong Kong, weather will deteriorate rapidly later today,” the observatory said on its website. "There will be heavy squally showers and violent winds.”
The storm, which is on track to be the strongest to affect the city since at least Mangkhut in 2018, is a major test for John Lee’s government. Mangkhut provoked public criticism after roads remained blocked for days by some of the tens of thousands of trees toppled by the typhoon and people struggled to get to work.
Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, who is leading a government task force to deal with the storm, warned residents to stay indoors.
"This can be a very destructive typhoon,” the chief secretary said Thursday, flanked by heads of various government departments. "We hope to minimize the damage.”
Saola is forecast to be within 100 km south of Hong Kong late Friday and early Saturday, the observatory said, warning that a storm surge will cause water levels to rise rapidly in low-lying coastal areas. The maximum water level may be similar to when Mangkhut hit Hong Kong, it said.
In the past 40 years, only five storms have prompted the raising of the highest signal in Hong Kong, according to observatory data. The No. 10 signal means hurricane force winds reaching a sustained speed of at least 118 km an hour.
Airlines are starting to cancel flights. Airport Authority Hong Kong said as of 8.30 a.m., 366 passenger flights were canceled Friday and 40 delayed.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the city’s flag carrier, said it will halt all Hong Kong flights from 2pm. Friday until 10am Saturday. The airline expects significant disruptions at Hong Kong International Airport and is working to keep aircraft out of the city for a period of time, according to information seen by Bloomberg.
In Hong Kong, all inner harbor and outlying islands ferry services have been suspended, while the MTR, the city’s subway and railroad operator, halted bus services.
Nearby Shenzhen airport will halt all flights from 12 p.m., the airport operator said. The city’s stock market remained open.
Read more: How Hurricanes Are Categorized on an Imperfect Scale: QuickTake
Hong Kong halted stock trading because of rules requiring it when signal no. 8 or above is in place. Trading halts due to severe weather are seen as increasingly antiquated given that the global finance industry adjusted to remote working during the pandemic.
With most orders now received and executed electronically, the case is growing for Hong Kong to ensure continuous trading in bad weather. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said earlier this year that the city will explore arrangements to allow stock trading under severe weather.
China’s national weather authorities reiterated their highest alert for the typhoon on Friday morning. They warned of severe weather in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, and urged local officials to be ready for flash flooding. China dealt with several bouts of extreme weather last month, with dozens of deaths in northern areas including Beijing that were caused by flooding from Typhoon Doksuri.
Another storm is expected to affect Taiwan and eastern China in coming days. Severe tropical storm Haikui, with maximum sustained winds of 110 km per hour, is forecast to be close to northern Taiwan on Saturday evening or Sunday morning before making landfall in mainland China near Fuzhou.
Currency and fixed income markets in the Philippines were closed on Friday after government offices including the central bank were shut due to monsoon rains enhanced by Saola and other storms.
--With assistance from Jing Li, Philip Glamann, Filipe Pacheco and Danny Lee.
(Updates to add latest movement in second paragraph, quote in fourth, flight details from 10th paragraph)
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