Typhoon Hato

It is Typhoon season in Hong Kong and we have experienced a few already this year.   The strongest one was Typhoon Hato hitting Hong Kong on August 23, 2017.  The storm hit at high tide and a full moon causing increased flooding.  We have been safe in our apartment next to Kowloon bay.  

For a clarification of terms, here are the two scales used to categorize storms.  

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is used to rank tropical cyclone wind strength in many parts of the world.  This is the scale that is used for the hurricanes that have been hitting the United States this year.

• Category 1 - sustained wind speeds of 74 to 95 m.p.h

• Category 2 - sustained wind speeds of 96 to 110 m.p.h

• Category 3 - sustained wind speeds of 111 to 129 m.p.h

• Category 4 - sustained wind speeds of 130 to 156 m.p.h

• Category 5 - sustained wind speeds greater than 156 m.p.h

This is the scale that is used for Typhoons hitting Hong Kong.  (Note that wind speed is in kilometers/hour not miles/hour.)

Tropical cyclone classes	Maximum sustained winds near the centre (km/h)	Highest tropical cyclone signal in case of a direct hit at Hong Kong
Tropical Depression	62 or below	No. 3
Tropical Storm	63-87	No. 8
Severe Tropical Storm	88-117	No. 9
Typhoon	118-149	No. 10
Severe Typhoon	150-184	No. 10
Super Typhoon	185 or above	No. 10

A category 10 storm in Hong Kong is roughly equivalent to a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale widely used in the Western Hemisphere.  When a storm in Hong Kong is upgraded to a  No. 8 signal or higher schools, businesses, and transportation begin shutting down.  The temple is closed and if it is a Sunday church meetings are cancelled.

Local weather authorities designated Hato a category 10 storm. It passed within 37 miles of the city with maximum sustained winds of 78 miles per hour and gusts of up to 129 mph. Hong Kong last experienced a storm of Hato's strength in 2012, with Typhoon Vicente.  The No 10 signal has been hoisted only 14 times since 1946, or once every 72 storms, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

There were reports of 34 people injured in Hong Kong while more than 450 flights were cancelled, financial markets suspended and schools closed as Hato bore down.

In residential districts such as Heng Fa Chuen on densely populated Hong Kong island, waves smashed against the sides of oceanfront buildings and surged over a promenade, sweeping away walls and benches and swamping vehicles parked nearby.

The storm affected more than just Hong Kong.  China’s weather service said the storm made landfall about noon in the Pearl river delta city of Zhuhai, in Guangdong province. At least four people died and 26,817 people evacuated to temporary shelters, the official Xinhua news agency said. Nearly two million households were briefly without power.  Eight people were killed in the gambling mecca of Macau, where local media showed cars underwater and people swimming along what are normally streets.

This is looking out our apartment window.  We know a storm is coming because before it ever gets here they put tape on the lower windows and barricades in front of the windows. 

This hotel down the bay from us puts up nets in front of the lower windows when storms are approaching.  Notice part way up one of the panes was still broken during Typhoon Hato.

A tree torn apart by the winds.

This tree is part of our apartment complex.  They stood it back up, trimmed it and it now looks like it is still alive.

This tree is leaning as well as this branch torn off.

              This is the promenade by our apartment where we like to walk.

This is what it looked like during the typhoon.

After the typhoon.  Poor little trees didn't endure the storm very well.

Also on the promenade by our apartment.

Same spot during the typhoon.  Notice how much higher the water was during the storm.

Elder Jenson on the promenade during Typhoon Hato.

Below is a video I pieced together from the internet showing what Typhoon Hato was like.  The video contains scenes from Hong Kong, China and Macau.  The first part is Hong Kong by our apartment.  The last part where the narration mentions "Gambling Hub" is Macau.  Not sure where the rest of the videos were taken.