Hurricane update - 8 August

Hong Kong is bracing itself for tropical storm Pabuk, which has finally made up its mind where to go - to Hong Kong. Winds will be 45 knots / force 9 on the Beaufort scale, but as per usual, it's the rainfall that will be present the greatest problems. The centre of the storm will pass the city at around 2 am local time, that is in 6 hours' time. Hourly updates are provided by the Hong Kong Observatory on this link.

Southern Taiwan will see its second tropical cyclone in a few days tomorrow, when Witup comes barrelling across. Again, winds are not that much of a problem (force 9), but the rains may well cause more problems. I quote a report:

Taiwan on Wednesday issued both sea and land warnings for a new tropical storm, just hours after Typhoon Pabuk lashed the eastern part of the island, causing about 200,000 dollars worth of damage to crops.

Wutip, the second tropical storm to affect the island this year, was moving north-westerly at a rate of 22 kilometres per hour and expected to hit eastern and central Taiwan on Thursday, weathermen said.

'Vessels are advised to avoid sailing in waters south-east and north-east of Taiwan, Bashi Channel and the northern part of the Taiwan Strait,' said Hsieh Ming-chang, a spokesman of the Central Weather Bureau.

He also urged residents in eastern, north-eastern and central Taiwan to take precautionary measures against strong gusts and heavy rains, expected from early Thursday.

Wutip was closely following Pabuk, which brought heavy rains for the eastern and southeastern island after passing through the so Pingtung on its way to southeastern China.

The NaturalDisaster Prevention Centre reported power stoppage at close to 60,000 households in eastern and southern Taiwan. The Council of Agriculture also reported an estimated 6.8 million Taiwan dollars (206,000 US) in farm damage.

No casualties were reported, officials said.