Another Typhoon Hits
Another Typhoon Hits
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Back in March this year, I remember reading that the Hong Kong Observatory was predicting that this year’s summer would bring an unusually large number of typhoons (or tropical cyclones, or hurricanes, as they are known in other parts of the world).
It was three years after we moved to Hong Kong before we experienced our first typhoon. That delay really upset our son, Andrew, as it meant that he never experienced the joy of cancelled classes at the school he was attending at the time. This year seems to have made up for lost time, however, as four major typhoons have passed through Hong Kong. I missed the first when I was away from Hong Kong for my summer break in June, but I have been here for the remaining three.
The way that the Observatory measures the strength of typhoons in Hong Kong might seem a little strange to the uninitiated. There is some historical background to the system used (which can be read HERE), but in brief, the strength of typhoons is measured on a scale of 1 to 10, using only the numbers 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10. This week’s typhoon was Force 8, meaning that there were sustained winds of 63 to 117 kilometres per hour with gusts exceeding 180 kilometres per hour.
Fortunately, the strongest winds and rain from this week’s typhoon hit Hong Kong in the middle of the night when most people were at home anyway. During Tuesday the winds became stronger as Typhoon Hagupit approached Hong Kong across the South China Sea - we spent most of Tuesday enduring the unpleasant impact of steadily strengthening Force 3 winds.
The Force 8 signal was hoisted at 6:00 pm. Force 8 means that everyone should return home from their place of work and make preparations by securing any loose objects around their homes. Our office staff had already left early because several of them live quite a long way from the College and we were concerned that they should be home before the winds reached Force 8.
Fortunately for the students, our canteen staff remained on duty to prepare and serve meals. For our students, it was a wet and windy walk to the canteen from their residences, even while staying under the protective network of covered walkways that joins all the residences to the canteen.
The strongest winds blew between about 11 pm on Tuesday night and 3 am on Wednesday morning. After this, the winds died down considerably, and by 7 am on Wednesday morning, the typhoon had weakened to Force 3. This meant the winds were still blowing at 41 to 62 kilometres per hour with some gusts of over 110 kilometres per hour, but the Force 3 signal also meant that everyone could return to work.
The aftermath of the typhoon meant a huge amount of cleaning up needed to be done by our grounds staff - just like the previous three typhoons this summer. Branches had been ripped from trees, several trees and bushes had been uprooted, and debris in the form of saturated and shredded leaves, twigs and branches was strewn across the paths and roadways. Fortunately, we experienced no serious property damage and no injuries.
Three of this year’s typhoons have reached Force 8. One was even stronger and reached Force 10, which meant that the typhoon passed directly over us. It is the first time in my life that I experienced the calm eye of a cyclone; it was a great geographical experience for me that I enjoyed thoroughly. This Force 10 cyclone blew through Hong Kong on the afternoon of Friday 22nd August, the day before our 2nd Year students were due to return for the new academic year. Several of them were delayed by late or diverted flights. All our teachers were present, however, which was fortunate because we had a staff meeting scheduled that morning. It was the first time I have chaired a staff meeting while there is a Force 9 typhoon outside; fortunately it didn’t become Force 10 until 4 pm that afternoon.
This was the view that greeted me from my office window at 7:56 am on the morning after this week’s typhoon hit Hong Kong
The 4 photos below were taken from my office window after this week’s typhoon. Click each image for a more detailed view.
Wednesday 24th September - 7:57 am
It is between rain showers, but the winds are still gusting at Force 3. The broken branches and the damaged pool light can be seen clearly.
Wednesday 24th September - 2:21 pm
The clean-up has begun. The damaged light has been removed for safety reasons.
Thursday 25th September - 1:48 pm
The clean up around the pool has almost finished. The tree had to be removed because the damage had made it dangerous. I now have a much better view from my office, and more natural light as well.
Friday 26th September - 3:50 pm
The pool is back to normal operations. The cleaning up of the rest of the campus continues, however.