Typhoon Mangkhut claims 69 lives, lashes Hong Kong and Southern China

After killing more than 30 people in Philippines, now a strong storm making its way to Southern China. Typhoon Mangkhut, considered to be one of the strongest storms to hit the region since 1979 has so far claimed 69 lives, authorities say.

According to the Meteorologists at the Hong Kong Observatory, the storm was the most powerful to hit the city since 1979, with sustained gusts of wind recorded at 121mph. In the Philippines, the main reasons behind the causes of deaths were flooding and landslides, taking the death toll to 65, and injured 43.

The report claimed four people were killed in China by either falling trees or building materials in the southern province of Guangdong. The rescue operation is underway and considering the current situation the death toll could rise to over 100.

On Monday, Mangkhut was treated with a tropical storm as it moved deeper into southern provinces. It remained on track to pass over the Guangxi regional capital of Nanning and make its way towards the popular tourist destination of Yunnan. Hong Kong’s security minister, John Lee Ka-chiu, had warned residents on Sunday to “prepare for the worst” as the eye of the storm passed close by.

When the warning says stay inside, stay inside. #TyphoonManghkut #HK pic.twitter.com/figSqRhuMq

— Jen Zhu (@jenzhuscott) September 16, 2018

Residents were asked to stay away from the coastline. Bus, ferry and rail services were reportedly suspended and almost 900 flights were cancelled at the city’s busy international airport. The South China Morning Post said, “Hong Kong’s hospitals had to use back-up power due to outages caused by the storm.” According to the Newspaper, “Glass windows shattered on commercial skyscrapers, while the storm tore scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded some areas with waist-high waters. Officials said more than 200 people were injured.”

Another one captured by our @CNBCi team in Hong Kong. #TyphoonMangkhut pic.twitter.com/z5h2qXeBhp

— Akiko Fujita (@AkikoFujita) September 16, 2018

Elaine Wong told Independent UK,  she could feel her high-rise building moving in the storm. “It swayed for quite a long time, at least two hours,” she told the news agency Reuters. “It made me feel so dizzy.” Till Sunday evening, over 2.4 million people had been evacuated in China’s Guangdong province.

In the territory of Macau, the famous casinos were ordered to close down due to the typhoon for the first time in history. The city managed to avoid serious casualties, but now faces a difficult recovery as thousands still remain affected by flooding and travel disruptions.

Also read: Typhoon Mangkhut hits the northern Philippines, claims two lives