Hong Kong Faces Severe Weather as Typhoon Wipha Passes

Accra: Hong Kong was battered by strong winds and heavy rain on Sunday as Typhoon Wipha skirted along China's southern coast, with fallen trees and collapsed scaffolding spotted across the city. Wipha was located around 140 kilometres (87 miles) to Hong Kong's southwest as of 5 pm (0900 GMT), according to the city's weather observatory. Hong Kong's highest tropical cyclone warning, T10, was in effect for around seven hours but was downgraded to the third-highest T8 warning at 4:10 pm as Wipha departed the city. "Gale to storm force southeasterly winds are still affecting parts of the territory occasionally," the observatory said. "The intense rainbands of Wipha are persistently affecting the vicinity of Pearl River Estuary." According to Lao News Agency, neighbouring casino hub Macau issued its own top-level typhoon warning shortly after noon, with authorities suspending all public transportation services. China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces were earlier put on high alert, according to state news agency X inhua. In Hong Kong, more than 250 people sought refuge at government-run temporary shelters.