Typhoon Pakhar retraces Hato’s path of destruction

Typhoon Pakhar put the lives of a cargo ship crew in danger off Hong Kong as it uprooted trees and caused flooding and blackouts on Sunday in Guangdong province coastal cities, which were still recovering from Typhoon Hato’s devastation.

Pedestrians brave Typhoon Pakhar’s strong winds and rain in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Pakhar packed winds up to 119 kilometers per hour when it made landfall at 9 am in Taishan, Guangdong. Four days before, Hato, the strongest typhoon in China this year, landed less than 100 kilometers away, leaving 18 dead in the province and neighboring Macao.

The Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received a distress call on Sunday morning from a cargo vessel sinking in the storm 64 nautical miles east of Hong Kong. The 11 crew members onboard the Hong Tai 176 were safely rescued by two aircraft of the SAR’s Flying Service.

Meanwhile, on Hong Kong’s Kowloon Peak, two hikers had been stranded since Saturday night. The city dispatched firefighters, fire vehicles and ambulances to save them, and they were escorted downhill at noon and taken to a hospital.

Pakhar damaged power supply stations and caused blackouts affecting thousands in Foshan and Shenzhen, Guangdong.

Some roads in Zhuhai, one of the cities worse hit by Hato, were soaked again by Pakhar’s rainfall on Sunday morning. Several bridges, part of the expressways and some roads were temporarily closed.

Three security guards at a residential community in Shenzhen were injured when the wind toppled a tree that hit parking fee collection booth, Guangdong TV reported.

The Zhongshan Maritime Administration rescued 28 people on three fishing and merchant ships near Modaomen Estuary.

Zhang Jiarui, who lives in an abandoned factory in Magang, Jiangmen, hunkered down indoors with his parents when Pakhar came ashore, uprooting trees and causing power outages.

“We knew the typhoon was coming, and we bought food and daily necessities in town. … With our precautions, we’ve been calmly handling it.”

Armed Police officers helped check fishing boat berths and seaside resort businesses in Jiangmen starting on Saturday in preparation for Pakhar. Before the typhoon hit, 14,348 people were evacuated.

Power and water companies and the police worked overnight on Saturday to restore service cut by Typhoon Hato and clear roads blocked by fallen trees in Zhuhai.

Businesses and schools closed in Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Zhongshan and Yangjiang on Sunday.

Some rail service and intercity coach service in Guangdong was suspended on Sunday, and some expressways were closed

China Southern Airlines canceled 55 flights on Sunday to or from Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Jieyang.

Hainan maritime authorities suspended roll-on/roll-off ferry service and cross-sea trains in and out of the province.

To help Macao restore power, largely affected by Hato, China Southern Power Grid Co delivered 50 generators on Sunday, and Guangdong police delivered 20 fire engines to serve as mobile water supply vehicles.

In Yunnan province, two more people have been found dead, raising the provincial death toll from Typhoon Hato to five. Six people went missing after houses collapsed in a flood caused by heavy rain on Friday in Yanjin county. Rescuers found two bodies in the debris on Saturday and Sunday.