Hong Kong closes schools, raises warning for Typhoon Koinu / Photo: Peter PARKS - AFP
-
Kenya's economy faces climate change risks: World Bank
-
War threatens Gulf's dugongs, turtles and birds
-
Germany targets oil firms to prevent wartime price gouging
-
EU to help reopen blocked oil pipeline in Ukraine
-
Cash handouts, fare hikes as Philippines battles soaring fuel costs
-
Indonesia weighs response to price pressures from Middle East war
-
In Hollywood, AI's no match for creativity, say top executives
-
Nvidia chief expects revenue of $1 trillion through 2027
-
Nvidia making AI module for outer space
-
Migrant workers bear brunt of Iran attacks in Gulf
-
Trump vows to 'take' Cuba as island reels from oil embargo
-
Equities rise on oil easing, with focus on Iran war and central banks
-
Nvidia rides 'claw' craze with AI agent platform
-
Damaged Russian tanker has 700 tonnes of fuel on board: Moscow
-
Talks towards international panel to tackle 'inequality emergency' begin at UN
-
EU talks energy as oil price soars
-
Swiss government rejects proposal to limit immigration
-
Ingredients of life discovered in Ryugu asteroid samples
-
Why Iranian drones are hard to stop
-
France threatens to block funds for India over climate inaction
-
"So proud": Irish hometown hails Oscar winner Jessie Buckley
-
European bank battle heats up as UniCredit swoops for Commerzbank
-
Italian bank UniCredit makes bid for Germany's Commerzbank
-
AI to drive growth despite geopolitics, Taiwan's Foxconn says
-
Filipinas seek abortions online in largely Catholic nation
-
'One Battle After Another' wins best picture Oscar
-
South Koreans bask in Oscars triumph for 'KPop Demon Hunters'
-
'One Battle After Another' dominates Oscars
-
Norway's Oscar winner 'Sentimental Value': a failing father seeks redemption
-
Indonesia firms in palm oil fraud probe supplied fuel majors
-
Milan-Cortina Paralympics end as a 'beacon of unity'
-
It's 'Sinners' vs 'One Battle' as Oscars day arrives
-
Oscars night: latest developments
-
US Fed expected to hold rates steady as Iran war roils outlook
-
It's 'Sinners' v 'One Battle' as Oscars day arrives
-
US mayors push back against data center boom as AI backlash grows
-
Who covers AI business blunders? Some insurers cautiously step up
-
Election campaign deepens Congo's generational divide
-
Courchevel super-G cancelled due to snow and fog
-
Middle East turmoil revives Norway push for Arctic drilling
-
Iran, US threaten attacks on oil facilities
-
Oscars: the 10 nominees for best picture
-
Spielberg defends ballet, opera after Chalamet snub
-
Kharg Island bombed, Trump says US to escort ships through Hormuz soon
-
Jurors mull evidence in social media addiction trial
-
UK govt warns petrol retailers against 'unfair practices' during Iran war
-
Mideast war cuts Hormuz strait transit to 77 ships: maritime data firm
-
How will US oil sanctions waiver help Russia?
-
Oil stays above $100, stocks slide tracking Mideast war
-
How Iranians are communicating through internet blackout
Hong Kong closes schools, raises warning for Typhoon Koinu
Hong Kong issued its third-highest storm warning signal on Sunday, prompting the closure of some transport services and schools, as Typhoon Koinu skirted the financial hub, bringing rains and powerful gusts.
Koinu comes just a month after the financial hub was lashed by Typhoon Saola, which triggered Hong Kong's highest "T10" storm alert.
A week after that, the city experienced its highest rainfall in nearly 140 years, flooding subway stations and malls, and causing landslides.
Hong Kong's weather observatory on Sunday warned of strong winds and intense rain bands as Koinu moved towards the Pearl River Estuary and was expected to skirt as close as 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Hong Kong before midnight.
"Koinu is a mature typhoon with its eyewall edging closer to the seas south of the territory," said the Hong Kong Observatory, warning the public to avoid low-lying areas in case of a storm surge.
It added that it would assess the need to issue higher storm warning signals based on wind speeds.
Typhoon Koinu's "T8" signal -- the third-highest in Hong Kong's warning system -- is triggered when a storm's sustained wind speed goes up to 117 kilometres (72 miles) per hour.
The storm's maximum sustained wind speed was observed at 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour.
Schools, daycare centres, cargo terminals, ferries and buses suspended operations for the day or for the afternoon.
Around 90 flights were cancelled and 130 others delayed throughout the day due to the storm, according to Hong Kong's Airport Authority.
Hong Kong's government received reports of four fallen trees and two people wounded during the typhoon on Sunday afternoon.
Before moving to Hong Kong, Koinu had grazed nearby Taiwan, bringing torrential rain and record-breaking winds to its outlying Orchid Island.
The storm left at least one dead, and knocked out the power to hundreds of thousands of homes.
Southern China is frequently hit during summer and autumn months by typhoons that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and then travel west.
But climate change has made tropical storms more unpredictable while increasing their intensity -- bringing more rain and stronger gusts that lead to flash floods and coastal damage, experts say.
M.García--CPN
