Typhoon Koinu: Over 20 injured after Hong Kong pummelled by gale-force winds

Typhoon Koinu, which brought heavy rains and strong winds to Taiwan last week, skirted Hong Kong late Sunday (Oct 8) which had issued its third-highest alert in the city’s warning system for most of the day, prompting closures of transport services and disrupting over 200 flights.

A report by the South China Morning Post said at least 23, including two cleaners, were struck by falling tree branches and sustained head injuries. The storm is now heading for the coast of China’s Guangdong province towards the resort island of Hainan.

Typhoon Koinu

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Typhoon Koinu brought heavy rains and powerful gusts to Hong Kong and after being the third-highest alert in the city’s warning system for most of the day was upgraded to “T9” for more than four hours when it was the closest to the city.

ALSO READ |Typhoon Koinu batters Taiwan with 'record-breaking winds'

However, the observatory dropped it back to “T8” around 11:50 pm (local time). “In the past couple of hours, Koinu tracked westwards steadily. The associated hurricane force winds are gradually departing from the seas south of Hong Kong,” said the observatory, as quoted by AFP.

Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese, will likely continue to bring heavy showers on Monday as well, as per reports. Last week, the typhoon led to the death of one person and injured almost 400 people in Taiwan as it brushed past the south of the island.

The “T8” warning in Hong Kong will be in place till 11:00 am (local time) said the observatory, warning the public that “precautions should not yet be relaxed” as gale-force windsgenerated by Koinu were expected to persist.

ALSO WATCH |Typhoon Koinu leaves behind a trail of destruction in Taiwan

Hong Kong disrupted

According to Hong Kong’s Airport Authority, as many as 90 flights were cancelled and 130 others were delayed on Sunday due to the storm. The SCMP also reported that hundreds of travellers were left stranded in Hong Kong with long queues due to most public transport being shut.

In line with the warnings, schools have also been cancelled for the day, according to the government. Local officials also received reports of more than a dozen incidents of fallen trees due to strong winds.

ALSO READ |Typhoon Koinu kills one in Taiwan; China braces for storm

According to the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, Guangdong province’s cities of Zhuhai and Jiangmen issued a Level III emergency response as Koinu is expected to sweep past en route to Hainan. Chinese officials are reportedly on high alert even though Koinu looks unlikely to travel inland towards populous cities.

(With inputs from agencies)

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