Super typhoon heads for Hong Kong, China after killing 25 in Philippines

HONG KONG/MANILA (Reuters): A super typhoon swirled towards Hong Kong and the Chinese coast on Sunday, gaining in strength over the South China Sea after hurtling through the Philippines, where it wreaked havoc that killed at least 25.

Tropical cyclone Mangkhut is considered the strongest to hit the region this year, packing gale force winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph), equivalent to a maximum Category 5 “intense hurricane” in the Atlantic.

Philippine authorities said at least 25 people were killed, including a baby and a toddler, most of them in landslides in mountainous areas that left at least 13 missing.

“The landslides happened as some residents returned to their homes after the typhoon,” disaster response coordinator Francis Tolentino said on DZMM Radio, adding that 5.7 million people had been affected and most were prepared.

“No matter how prepared we are, there is really some limitation.” 

Mangkhut, the Thai name for Southeast Asia’s mangosteen fruit, was expected to skirt 100 km (62 miles) south of Hong Kong and veer west towards the coast of China’s southern Guangdong province, and the gaming centre of Macau. 

“According to the present forecast track, Mangkhut will be closest to the Pearl River Delta around noontime (0200 GMT),” the Hong Kong Observatory said.

Hong Kong raised its highest No. 10 typhoon signal at mid-morning, as fierce waves pounded low-lying areas and strong winds rattled windows in many towering skyscrapers.

Some residents have been evacuated from low-lying areas with storm surges of up to 3.5 m (12 ft.) expected.

Tens of thousands of travellers had plans disrupted after Hong Kong’s international airport, a major regional hub, cancelled most flights. Airlines such as its flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, cancelled many flights last week.

Last year, typhoon Hato, one of the strongest in recent years, pummelled the region, causing nine deaths and damage in Macau, sparking criticism that authorities had not been well prepared.

This time, Macau has been cautious, with officials saying it shut casino gambling operations late on Saturday and China’s People’s Liberation Army put on standby for any disaster relief assistance.

“The suspension is for the safety of casino employees, visitors to the city, and residents,” the government of the world’s largest gambling hub said in a statement.

China has ordered about 6,000 boats to return to harbour, and evacuated thousands of offshore oil platform workers, the state news agency, Xinhua, said.

“King of Storms”

The typhoon, or “King of Storms”, as Chinese media describe it, is expected to make landfall in Guangdong between Zhuhai and Wuchuan in the evening, weather officials say.

Ports, oil refineries and industrial plants in Guangdong have been shut. Power to some areas could also be reduced as a precaution, say grid operators.

The storm has fuelled concern about Guangdong’s sugar output, with China sugar futures rising last week on fears for the cane crop. Guangdong produces about 1 million tonnes, or a tenth of national sugar output.

The airport in the boomtown of Shenzhen has been shut since midnight, and will be closed until 8:00 a.m. (2400 GMT) on Monday. In Guangzhou, scheduled flights between noon on Sunday and 8:00 a.m. on Monday have been cancelled.

More than 400 flights have also been cancelled in the neighbouring island province of Hainan.

Mangkhut’s northwesterly track will bring heavy rain and winds to the autonomous region of Guangxi early on Monday, before the storm weakens into a tropical depression to reach southwestern Yunnan on Tuesday.

Killer storm far from over, US officials warn as 'epic' rain falls

NEW BERN, AFP: Authorities on Saturday warned residents displaced by a killer hurricane that its devastation was far from over, as Florence dumped “epic amounts of rainfall” across the southeastern United States, bringing catastrophic flooding and up to 13 deaths. 

Most of the fatalities occurred in North Carolina, where officials confirmed eight victims. They included three who died “due to flash flooding and swift water on roadways,” the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office reported. 

A woman and her baby were among the first casualties when a tree fell on their house, contributing to a death toll that US media said had reached 13 - 10 in North Carolina and three in South Carolina, according to CNN. Florence made landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, even as it continued to wreak havoc along the East Coast, downing trees and power lines and forcing 20,000 people to flee to shelters. 

On Saturday some residents tried to return home, driving through flooded highways and armed with chainsaws to clear fallen pine trees that covered the road. 

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned against such behavior as roads became increasingly dangerous. 

“All roads in the state right now are at risk of floods,” he said. “As rivers keep rising and rain keeps falling, the flooding will spread. More and more inland counties are issuing mandatory evacuations to get people to safety quickly.” He earlier said the storm system “is unloading epic amounts of rainfall: in some places, measured in feet, not inches.” In a separate briefing, Steve Goldstein of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said some areas have already received two feet of rain and could expect up to 20 inches more as the system moved “slowly, nearly stationary” over eastern North Carolina. 

In New Bern, a riverfront city near the North Carolina coast that saw storm surges of up to 10 feet (three meters), residents took stock of the damage after flood waters began receding and authorities rescued hundreds of people who had been stranded. 

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Saturday announced the death of a 61-year-old woman who died when her car hit a downed tree on a highway. 

CNN also reported a man and a woman died in South Carolina’s Horry County due to carbon monoxide poisoning. 

President Donald Trump tweeted late Saturday that “five deaths have been recorded thus far,” and expressed sympathy to the victims’ families. 

The White House said Trump would visit hurricane-hit areas next week “once it is determined his travel will not disrupt any rescue or recovery efforts.” More than 800,000 customers in North Carolina were without power and 21,000 people were being housed in 157 shelters across the state.