Fishing boats sit moored in a typhoon shelter in Hong Kong Thursday. Authorities ordered fishermen back to shore and halted rail services as Typhoon Megi, the strongest storm to hit the northwest Pacific since 1990, barrelled toward the city and the mainland. Edmond Tang / China Daily

Waning killer cyclone, no cause for complacency as the city battens down

The city is taking no chances with Typhoon Megi, one of the nastiest tropical storms ever recorded, as it bears down on the South China coast, and expected to make landfall in eastern Guangdong or Fujian province within the next 24 hours.

Six of the city's major departments held an unprecedented news conference in the face of the storm, issuing a joint appeal to the public on Thursday to be on full alert as to the destructive potential of Megi.

"The government has already activated the Emergency Warning System and cross-department Emergency Acting Teams were standing by. We are ready to counter the potential dangers that may threaten Hong Kongers," said Lai Tung-kwok, acting secretary for Security Department.

Megi continues churning northeastward east of 117 E Longitude. At 8 pm Thursday night, the category five super typhoon that left 200,000 homeless in the northern Philippines Island of Luzon had been downgraded to a category two storm with winds at the center blowing at 95 knots gusting to 135 knots. Forecasters predicted it will be further downgraded to a category one storm later today, before coming ashore. But they warned that tropical storms are unpredictable and that they can change direction abruptly and regain strength over open water.

Megi is also under the influence of a strong northeasterly seasonal wind, which could cause a change in direction, said Chan Chik-cheung, senior scientific advisor to the Hong Kong Observatory.

"Though it was hard to precisely predict the damage Magi would bring to Hong Kong, we are sure that Megi is very powerful," said Chan. The expert noted that at its core Megi was still churning out winds as strong as 175 kilometers per hour and still capable of causing massive destruction.

Chan urged people particularly to stay away from the sea side, stay indoors as much as possible until the typhoon passes and keep a close watch on the Hong Kong Observatory website.

Though no evacuation plans have been announced, the Deputy Director of Home Affairs said a Temporary Rescue Center has already been set up in Tai O. Rescue centers will be set up in other districts. People who choose to leave their homes to safe ground may move to the centers.

Drainage Services has augmented efforts to clearing drainage channels to ward against the increased risk of flooding.

Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan was a particular focus. The field has been submerged under nearly three feet of water in past storms, the most recent, only two years ago. People who live there remember. They've pitched in with their own efforts to prepare for possible flooding. Among them, dry seafood sellers had already moved valuable sea food products to higher ground.

In the heart of the city's business district, Central, the city's iconic HSBC main building has pulled down the steel-frame glass wall to prevents its being damaged. Many stores in the city have been buttressed by sandbags.

Hong Kong Observatory raised the Strong Wind Signal for Megi from No 1 to No 3 around 4 am Thursday, in consideration of the potential change in direction caused by the prevailing seasonal wind.

Megi is predicted by several forecasters, including the US Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, to move to 22 North, 117.9 East by 2 pm today, drawing slightly nearer to the SAR's location at 22.5 North, 114.7 East.

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/22/2010 page1)