TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The cities of Hong Kong and Macau were severely damaged after Typhoon Hato struck on Wednesday August 23, 2017.
As reported by the Guardian, Thursday, August 24, 2017, the Hato typhoon reportedly killed at least 10 people in Macau, Hong Kong and southern China on Wednesday morning local time.
As a result of Hato's haste, Hong Kong's weather authorities raised the hurricane alert signal to number 10, or the highest level of hurricanes for the first time in five years after Typhoon Vincente in 2012.
An 83-year-old man was reportedly killed and fell overboard when Hurricane Hato started crashing into Hong Kong. In addition to causing casualties, the cyclone also devastated a number of areas in Hong Kong, hundreds of flights to and from Hong Kong were canceled, schools and offices were closed.
Hurricane Hato made Hong Kong lonely - business centers, government offices, schools and the stock market, were all closed. All residents were advised to stay indoors.
Meanwhile, as many as five people were reported killed in Macau, three among men, aged 30, 45 and 62 years. They were killed by an accident caused by heavy rains and strong winds triggered by Hato's storm.
Hato braved Hong Kong on Wednesday morning before heading west to the Chinese mainland, where there it slowly weakened.
The Chinese weather service said Hato's storm landed around noon in the Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai, in Guangdong Province.
China's official Xinhua news agency reported 26,817 people were evacuated from several mainland coastal areas before the arrival of the storm. Hurricane Hato reportedly killed at least four residents in the area and two million houses temporarily not getting power supplies.
All train services were canceled, fishing boats returned to the harbor and more than 4,000 fishermen and their families arrived on the beach.
A 10-meter sea wave is expected to occur in the South China Sea, the agency said.
The airline canceled 450 flights and the ferry operator stopped commuting services and routes to Macau and the cities in the delta.
Hurricane Hato dropped a tree and blew a window at a skyscraper in Hong Kong, blowing the broken glass into the streets below.
GUARDIAN | AP | XINHUA | SITA PLANASARI AQUADINI
