Super Typhoon threatens to hit Hong Kong

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – Hong Kong residents were told to be ready for Super Typhoon Mangkhut by Saturday night as the Observatory warned winds would pick up sharply after midnight, with a typhoon No 10 signal possible on Sunday.

The Observatory assistant director Cheng Cho-ming said Mangkhut had weakened as it swept through the Philippines but it remained strong, poising a “serious threat” to the Guangdong region. He said the whole of Hong Kong would be affected.

“The wind strength will grow very quickly after midnight, so if [residents] need to prepare for the storm, it is best if they can finish it by today. The earlier the better,” Cheng said on a radio show on Saturday morning.

Mangkhut slammed into the northern Philippines on Saturday morning with violent winds and torrential rains, as authorities warned millions in its path of potentially heavy destruction.

The storm blew in windows, hurled debris and knocked out power lines when it made landfall on the island of Luzon in the predawn darkness.

At noon, Mangkut was estimated to be about 760km southeast of Hong Kong and predicted to move west-northwest at about 30km/h across the northern part of the South China Sea.