September 14, 2018 - Hong Kong was on Thursday (Sep 13) preparing for Super Typhoon Mangkhut, predicted to make landfall this weekend. It may be the strongest ever tropical storm to lash the city in decades, the Xinhua news agency reported.
With winds that may gust up to 240km/h, Mangkhut is expected to be more powerful than the Super Typhoon Wanda that resulted in heavy casualties in 1962 and the Super Typhoon Hato, which triggered the highest level typhoon warning signal last year.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a No 3 typhoon signal on Wednesday as winds gathered strength with the tropical storm Barijat. All the warning signals related to Barijat were cancelled early Thursday, but officials warned of a much greater threat from Mangkhut.
According to the observatory, Mangkhut is forecast to move towards the Philippine island of Luzon on Friday and Saturday. Around 10 million people in the Philippines are in the storm's path, and millions more in heavily populated coastal China.
Authorities say they expect storm surges of up to 7m (23 feet) and are warning that heavy rains could trigger landslides and flash floods.
Storm warnings have been issued in 39 provinces and sea and air travel has been restricted.
BDP International is closely monitoring Typhoon Mangkhut and will keep our customers apprised of any major change or developments in the storm's paths.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your local BDP representative.
Sources: BBC, Channel News Asia, BDP International
