Hong Kong battened down on Sunday, with its weather watchdog hoisting a No 10 hurricane signal — the highest warning level for the city — as Typhoon Wipha edged closer to the territory, bringing squally showers and strong winds, and forcing the suspension of public transport services, as well as the closure of shops, classes, piers and wetland parks.

The Hospital Authority of Hong Kong said 33 people — 18 men and 15 women — were injured by 8 pm, while 277 people sought shelter at 34 temporary shelters opened across the city by 7 pm. There were 711 reports of fallen trees by 8 pm, and seven reports of flooding.

Typhoon Wipha is the first storm this year to hit the city that has been upgraded to level 10. It is also the strongest storm to hit the city in two years, with average wind speeds exceeding 118 kilometers per hour.

The last time the No 10 signal was raised was in 2023 when Super Typhoon Saola struck. The No 10 signal across Hong Kong was lowered to level eight at 4:10 pm after seven hours and was then lowered to No 3 at 7:40 pm, with the city’s bus and rail system gradually resuming services. 

The Hong Kong Observatory eventually canceled all typhoon warnings on Monday morning. The Hong Kong link road of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge reopened to all vehicles from 12:00 am on Monday, said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

During the No 10 signal, Hong Kong’s subway operator, Mass Transit Railway, suspended open-air and light rail services, while all high-speed rail trips scheduled before 3 pm were canceled and some after were either suspended or rearranged.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station.

Among them were four members of the Li family, including two children, who had arrived in Hong Kong on Friday and were due to depart for Shenzhen at 4 pm.

The family told China Daily they had to wait on the concourse in case train services resumed on schedule. They had decided to go ahead with the visit despite the approaching typhoon as they were unable to cancel their hotel bookings.

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The Yue family was in the same situation, having arrived in Hong Kong on Friday. They had planned to leave at 3 pm, but their departure was delayed by an hour. The family said the concourse was too crowded, with insufficient room for them to rest, and food supplies were hard to come by.

Hong Kong raised its typhoon signal to No 8 at twenty minutes after midnight on Sunday morning, before raising it to No 9 at 7:20 am.

Two hours later, it was raised again to No 10, with the Observatory warning that Wipha posed a “considerable threat”, particularly in the southern region of the territory.

At its closest, the hurricane was about 50 kilometers south of the Hong Kong Observatory, which warned people to remain vigilant as winds could shift exposing previously sheltered areas to the storm.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong said around 500 flights were canceled, with about 400, carrying an estimated 80,000 passengers, expected to resume their journeys later on Sunday. The AAHK deployed an extra 1,000 staff to maintain operations. Water, blankets and food were distributed to stranded passengers. The airport authorities advised passengers to contact their airlines before leaving for the airport and to allow enough time to make arrangements.

AAHK said the three runways and all apron facilities at the Hong Kong International Airport are functioning well. From 8:00 pm Sunday to 6:00 am Monday, a total of 120 flights arrived and 114 departed.

At around 7 pm on Sunday, the MTR announced the resumption of services, apart from a few light rail lines. Most of the territory’s subway lines restarted services at 10-minute intervals. The company said it had provided services like water, hot drinks, food, blankets and phone charging to around 1,000 affected passengers after the No 9 typhoon signal was enacted.

Footage on social media captured the moment bamboo scaffolding on a high-rise building in North Point, Hong Kong Island, collapsed after being buffeted by gale-force winds, crushing several cars on the street. A boat was reported loose and floated near the China Merchants Wharf in Kennedy Town during the typhoon No 10 signal. No injuries were reported from either incident.

Many local residents were affected by the typhoon. Oliver Hu, 25, braved the storm to commute from To Kwa Wan in Kowloon to Aberdeen in Hong Kong Island’s Southern district for work. The usual 40-minute journey took him almost two hours due to the suspension of public transportation services. Hu said he was almost blown away by the strong winds, adding that he could not see anyone on the streets on the way to his office.

A 33-year-old man who works in the catering sector told China Daily he was on his way to Lok Fu, Kowloon, for work after leaving his home in Shek Kip Mei in the morning. As he approached the subway station, his employer informed him he did not have to show up for work due to the heavy storm.

READ MORE: Typhoon Wipha: Flood alert as HK mulls issuing T3 signal Saturday

The Education Bureau first suspended daytime school classes on Sunday before extending the suspension to night schools at around 2:30 pm.

With Xinhua inputs

Contact the writers at stushadow@chinadailyhk.com