Typhoon Utor lashes Hong Kong
Typhoon makes landfall in city with wind and rain, forcing stock market shutdown and cancellation of flights.
Last Modified: 14 Aug 2013 06:21
Heavy rain and winds of up to 138 km per hour were recorded in parts of Hong Kong [AFP]
Typhoon Utor has lashed Hong Kong with wind and rain, closing down the bustling Asian financial centre before sweeping toward mainland China.
The Hong Kong weather observatory raised its number eight tropical cyclone signal early on Wednesday morning, its third highest alert level.
Schools, courts and offices were shut and the stock market halted trading as Typhoon Utor approached.
Dozens of flights were canceled and bus and commuter ferry services were curtailed because of the typhoon, which was packing gale-force winds with gusts of up to 138 km per hour.
One person in Hong Kong was reported to be injured.
Strong winds blew down 15 trees and two satellite dishes off rooftops, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported, but otherwise the city emerged largely unscathed.
About 110 flights at city's airport were canceled while another 241 flights were delayed.
The storm, which also brought rough seas and pouring rain, was centered about 250km west-southwest of Hong Kong at about 1 pm local time.
Forecasters said Utor's intensity had weakened and it was expected to move northwest at about 16 km per hour toward China's Guangdong province.
Along the coast of Guangdong, authorities were calling fishing boats to port and securing buildings and equipment at aquaculture farms.
The storm was expected to make landfall near the city of Maoming in the afternoon before traveling northwest into Guangxi province.
As of late Tuesday, more than 3,000 passengers were stranded at Sanya and Haikou airports on Hainan, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that 94 flights at Meilan Airport in Hainan had been cancelled.
Some train and shipping services were also suspended, with waves of over 10 metres expected in some coastal zones.
Utor was the worst typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, killing six people and displacing more than 30,000 families as it caused landslides and floods and disrupted power and communications links.
Source: Agencies
