
Hong Kong back in business after Wipha as all typhoon signals lifted
subscribing . New users who
download our updated app get a seven-day free trial.
Hong Kong returned to normality on Monday morning as the Observatory lifted all storm warnings overnight following the departure of Typhoon Wipha, which triggered the highest-level No 10 warning over the weekend.
But the forecaster warned that the city would still be hit by showers and squally thunderstorms over the next few days under the influence of the outer rainbands of Wipha, which had now weakened into a tropical cyclone.
The No 8 typhoon signal or above was in force for 19 hours on Sunday, including seven hours for the No 10 hurricane warning, before the Observatory downgraded it to No 3 at 7.40pm. It was replaced with the No 1 signal at 3.20am before all warnings were cancelled at 5.10am on Monday.
The No 8 typhoon signal or above was in force for 19 hours on Sunday. Photo: May Tse
Wipha, which is a woman's name in Thai meaning 'splendour' or 'radiance', was the fifth typhoon to trigger the No 10 signal in the past two decades. But the maximum average wind speed near its centre, 140km/h, was among the lowest.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
10 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
How insurance can help Hong Kong homeowners weather a typhoon's aftermath
Experts have stressed the importance of buying insurance coverage for the structure and content of Hongkongers' homes after a Cheung Sha Wan flat's window wall was among those shattered when Typhoon Wipha struck the city. Selina Lau Pui-ling, CEO of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, on Monday called on flat owners to ensure that their homes were insured to reduce financial losses, especially as extreme weather could become more common in the coming years. Wipha struck the city on Sunday, triggering the top-level No 10 typhoon warning as the maximum average wind speed near its centre reached 140km/h (87mph). The Buildings Department said on Monday that it had received 25 reports of accidents linked to the typhoon, most of which involved windows being blown out. The tropical cyclone reportedly smashed a two-by-1.5-metre (6.6-by-4.9-foot) window wall at a flat at The Pacifica private housing estate at the height of the typhoon. In a video provided by the resident, a gaping hole can be seen from outside the flat, with broken glass scattered nearby. A mattress can also be seen temporarily covering the hole.


South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong ‘lucky' to have escaped greater damage from Typhoon Wipha: experts
Typhoon Wipha could have caused more damage if its trajectory had moved northwards and edged even closer to Hong Kong, two meteorological experts have said, calling it 'pure luck' that the impact was not greater. A No 8 typhoon signal or above was in force for 19 hours on Sunday, including seven hours for the No 10 hurricane warning, before the Hong Kong Observatory downgraded it to No 3 at 7.40pm, and further lifted all signals at 5.10am on Monday. Over 700 reports of fallen trees were received and at least 33 people were sent to public hospitals as Wipha battered Hong Kong on Sunday, triggering the highest No 10 hurricane warning for seven hours. The toll was relatively mild compared with Super Typhoon Saola in 2023, which also triggered a No 10 warning. At least 86 people were sent to hospital during that storm, which also resulted in 1,545 fallen trees and two landslides. Former Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying said Hong Kong was fortunate that Wipha did not have a greater impact on most residents, even though it reached hurricane levels of wind velocity on Sunday when the No 10 signal was issued. 'If the typhoon track moved 10km (6 miles) to 20km northwards, the whole of the Victoria Harbour area would be affected by level 12 hurricane winds as many live on the two sides of the harbour,' Lam said. 'It was pure luck. It would have been much worse.' He said Wipha, a woman's name in Thai meaning 'splendour' or 'radiance', followed a 'textbook' route of how typhoons typically moved, with a well-defined pattern that enabled earlier and more accurate predictions. Confidence in the forecast was boosted by the use of different models.


South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Capsized boat survivors recount deadly Vietnam storm that killed 35 people: ‘what a tragedy'
The thunderstorm came so suddenly that it overturned the boat within seconds, said two survivors of the shipwreck, which killed at least 35 people in Vietnam's top tourist spot of Ha Long Bay and left another four missing. 'It had been raining for 15 minutes, then there was a thunderstorm … and a huge wave that all of a sudden capsized the boat,' said Nguyen Hong Quan, one of 10 survivors of the accident, which happened early on Saturday afternoon. 'It took only a few seconds,' he said on Monday, recalling one of the worst accidents in recent years to hit the Unesco-protected archipelago, which consists of thousands of limestone islands about 200km (125 miles) northeast of Hanoi. A tourist boat is being salvaged in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam on Sunday. Photo: EPA/VNA Of the 49 people that Vietnam 's government said were on the boat, four are still missing. Conditions are predicted to worsen in the coming hours as Typhoon Wipha makes landfall in northern Vietnam. The typhoon skirted the southern Chinese coast over the weekend, causing flash floods and landslides. Authorities were verifying on Monday whether a body found on an islet in the bay was one of the missing people from the accident, according to local media. The thunderstorm hit large parts of northern Vietnam on Saturday, turning the sky dark in a matter of minutes, with sudden downpours and strong winds felling trees in the capital of Hanoi and temporarily disrupting air travel at the Noi Bai International Airport. 02:02 At least 35 dead after boat capsizes in Vietnam's scenic Ha Long Bay At least 35 dead after boat capsizes in Vietnam's scenic Ha Long Bay Quan, a 40-year-old tourist, said he drifted for about three hours on a wooden chair from the sunken boat before a fishing vessel finally rescued him.