The Hong Kong Observatory issued the strong wind signal No 3 at 1:10 pm on Monday to replace the gale or storm signal No 8 as severe tropical storm Tapah moved away from Hong Kong gradually.
Tapah homed in on Hong Kong with heavy winds and rainstorms, disrupting flights and ground transportation and forcing schools to close.
Much of Hong Kong has endured persistent strong winds and heavy rainfall since Sunday night, prompting the observatory to hoist the No 8 signal at 9:20 pm.
Storm Tapah landed in Taishan, Jiangmen city, at around 8:50 am, moving inland Guangdong. Tapah's rainbands are expected to continue to bring heavy squally showers to the Pearl River Estuary on Monday.
The strong wind signal No 3 will remain in force for most of the daytime today, the HKO said.
"Local winds are expected to moderate gradually, but winds will still be generally strong at first. Winds will occasionally reach gale force over the western part of Hong Kong, offshore and on high ground," the city's weather forecaster pointed out.
When the threat posed by Tapah is further reduced, the observatory said it will issue the standby signal No 1 or cancel all tropical cyclone warning signals.
The amber rainstorm signal had been issued in the early morning but was canceled at 11:35 am, indicating that heavy rain has fallen over Hong Kong, exceeding 30 millimeters in an hour.
Under the influence of an active southerly airstream, there will still be showers and thunderstorms over the coast of southern China midweek this week. An anticyclone aloft is expected in the latter part of this week and the weather will be generally fine and persistently very hot, according to the observatory .
ALSO READ: Typhoon Tapah makes landfall in South China coastal province
All-day schools and many services across several government departments ceased operations, including those of the Social Welfare Department, the majority of clinics and health centers under the Department of Health, and the Test Centre under the Transport Department.
The Airport Authority Hong Kong expects to handle 800 flights today, while about 100 flights are set to be canceled. By early Monday, nine flights had already required diversion to alternate destinations and numerous passengers had been stranded in the departure lounge.
Public transportation services like trains and buses have also been reduced amid severe weather. The shuttle bus between San Tin Interchange and Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang port has maintained service at an interval of 30 minutes.
As of 11 am, the Drainage Services Department confirmed two cases of flooding, but no report of landslide.
The department set up an emergency incident handling center on Sunday night, with 60 teams responding to residents’ requests and inspecting around 240 locations citywide prone to flooding due to blockages. Residents are advised to report any street flooding by calling the 24-hour drainage hotline at 2300 1110.
After the typhoon signal was lowered, the Education Bureau announced that classes of evening schools will resume, while the Marine Department announced that the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan have been reopened.
Meanwhile, as of 1:20 pm, the Home Affairs Department has opened 29 temporary shelters in various districts and 221 people have sought refuge at the shelters.
The government's 1823 Call Centre received 35 reports and the Fire Services Department 127 reports of fallen trees as of 1 pm.
And according to the Hospital Authority, nine males and three females have been injured and received treatment at the Accident and Emergency Department of public hospitals as of noon.
In multiple Guangdong cities including Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Yangjiang, classes were also suspended on Monday.
Braving heavy rain
Many residents had to venture out for work even in adverse weather conditions.
Robert Chen, an engineer who lives in Hong Kong but works in Dongguan, had to leave at 9:30 am after finding he was required to report for duty. Fortunately, the MTR was still running. His plan was to travel to the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint, transfer to the Shenzhen metro, and then switch to his company’s shuttle bus to Dongguan.
Chen braved the downpour, saying that as an employee, he had to go to work even if it were "raining knives”.
A cleaner surnamed Lui, after being woken by early morning thunder, took her usual route from Ma On Shan to The Wai mall atop Tai Wai MTR station. By 7:30 am, she was at work, and by 10 am, she had nearly finished cleaning the third floor.
Lui said the company had notified staff the night before that Typhoon Signal No 8 would remain hoisted until at least 11 am on Monday, and employees were offered voluntary attendance with transport reimbursed, with no obligation to come to work.
Though new -- having joined less than a month ago – and unsure about whether pay would differ, Lui chose to work. “I’m older, I wake up early, and there’s nothing to do at home anyway,” she said.
She had no issue working in severe weather, she said, but recalled frustration about wasting a leave day during one of last month’s black rainstorms, as she had learned the weather would have canceled work for everyone after taking a pre-arranged time off on the day.
Shadow Li contributed to the story.
