Hong Kong reported 158.1mm of rainfall in the space of an hour on Thursday night, the highest since records began in 1884, causing widespread flooding and disrupting road and rail traffic. The record rain, reported in the hour up to midnight on Thursday, comes just days after the city dodged major damage from a super typhoon. Late on Thursday, authorities in the Chinese city said various districts had been flooded and emergency services were conducting rescue operations. Members of the public were instructed to stay in a safe place. “Heavy…
Tag: Hong Kong
Typhoon Saola leaves trail of destruction in Hong Kong – video report
Typhoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong. Thousands of trees were felled and boats sank in the city’s harbour. Nearly 900,000 people had been evacuated in Hong Kong and China while business, transport and schools were suspended in advance of the typhoon making landfall The Guardian
Typhoon Saola makes landfall in southern China as nearly 900,000 evacuated
Typhoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and other parts of coastal southern China suspended business, transport and schools. Guangdong province’s meteorological bureau said the powerful storm churned into an outlying district of the city of Zhuhai, just south of Hong Kong at 3.30am local time. It was forecast to move in a south-westerly direction along the Guangdong coast at a speed of about 10mph (17km/h), gradually weakening before heading out to sea. China issues highest…
China issues highest flood warning as Typhoon Saola approaches its south-eastern coast – video
China has issued the highest flood warning as Typhoon Saola continued its journey toward the country’s south-eastern coast. The storm has clocked wind speeds of up to 209km/h threatening major urban areas including Hong Kong and Guangdong. Rail and air transport in Hong Kong have been suspended as local authorities warn people to remain indoors and away from windows The Guardian
Weather tracker: Hurricane Idalia leaves trail of damage in Florida
Hurricane Idalia struck northern Florida on Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain. It made landfall near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Big Bend during the morning as a high-end category 3 hurricane, bringing sustained winds speeds near 125mph (200km/h) and a storm surge of 16ft along Florida’s north-west coastline. Due to very warm sea surface temperatures, the storm strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 status, before weakening to category 3 as it made landfall. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines,…
Hong Kong: Cantonese language group shuts down after targeting by national security police
A group that promotes the Cantonese language shut down on Monday after Hong Kong authorities said a fictional essay depicting a decline in liberties in the city on the group’s website violated the national security law, in the latest example of the city’s erosion of freedom of expression. Andrew Chan, chair of the Societas Linguistica Hongkongensis, said in a Facebook post that national security officers visited a home where some of his family members live last week when he was out of town. The officers, who did not have a…
China wants to erase Tibet. Will Britain stay quiet about this crime? | Simon Tisdall
Last week’s US sanctioning of Chinese officials involved in Beijing’s ongoing criminal efforts to erase Tibet as a separate political, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious entity showed America at its best. Few other governments give a hoot. Most cravenly look the other way. Citing a recent UN report on the “forced assimilation” of one million Tibetan children ordered into Mandarin-language state boarding schools far from their homes and families, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, demanded China stop trying to eradicate Tibet’s distinct identity. “We urge PRC [People’s Republic…
Seafood Is Safe After Fukushima Discharge, But Some Won’t Eat It
Seafood is having a bad week in East Asia, which is bad news for a region where it’s a major part of the diet. Experts say Japan’s discharge into the ocean of treated radioactive wastewater from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant, which began on Thursday, does not and will not pose health risks to people who eat seafood. But even though the scientific evidence bears that out, not everyone is convinced. On Thursday, the Chinese government widened a ban on seafood imports to include all of Japan instead of…
China Faces a Crisis in Its Real Estate Sector
A model Chinese property developer in a sector replete with risk takers is teetering on the edge of default. Short of cash, one of China’s biggest asset managers has missed payments to investors. And billions of dollars have flowed out of the country’s stock markets. In China, August has been a dizzying ride. What started three years ago as a crackdown on risky business behavior by home builders, and then an ensuing housing slowdown, has spiraled rapidly this month. The broader economy has been threatened, and the confidence of consumers,…
Trouble in China Pushes Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Into Bear Market
Stocks in Hong Kong entered a bear market on Friday, down 21 percent from their high near the start of the year, as investors grew increasingly worried that the deteriorating condition of China’s real estate sector could spill over into the broader economy. The slump in the Hang Seng Index, which is made up mostly of companies from the mainland, comes as China’s economy confronts weakening growth. After three years of harsh Covid restrictions, foreign investment is down, consumers are spending less and the housing market is in turmoil. The…