HKFP Lens: Hong Kong prepares for Super Typhoon Saola as China warns of ‘strongest’ storm in decades

Hong Kong Free Press

HKFP Lens: Hong Kong hunkers down for Super Typhoon Saola

Hongkongers on Friday hunkered down for Super Typhoon Saola, as the Observatory announced the T9 storm signal at 6.20 pm, saying that the storm was expected to skirt within 40 kilometres of the city.

Typhoon Saola tropical cyclone umbrella rain wind Kennedy Town — Strong winds in Kennedy Town on Friday morning as Typhoon Saola continues to edge closer to Hong Kong as a super typhoon. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

A Government Flying Service aircraft captured meteorological data near Super Typhoon Saola on Friday morning. “The photos taken show that the eyewall of Super Typhoon #Saola is well defined, with tightly-wound circulation, indicating that it has developed into a mature storm,” the GFS said.

Strong winds were seen in Kennedy Town on Friday morning as Saola edged closer to Hong Kong.

Saola also brought gales to Sam Ka Tsuen, a coastal village in Lei Yue Mun, on Friday afternoon. The Hong Kong Observatory warned that there may be “serious flooding,” with floods expected to exceed depths of 1 metre in certain areas.

Mainland China’s weather service warned that Saola could be “the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the Pearl River Delta since 1949,” in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Friday.