In Hong Kong, the storm shattered glass windows on commercial skyscrapers, felled trees, tore bamboo scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded some areas of the city with waist-high waters, South China Morning Post reported. The paper said the heavy rains brought storm surges of three meters (10 feet) around Hong Kong.
Typhoon Mangkhut advanced to southern China on Sunday, killing two people after it wreaked destruction in the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rains that left at least 64 dead and dozens more feared buried in a landslide.
The typhoon, now moving west, has caused flooding and flash floods in eight provinces in Thailand, Xinhua reported.
The storm made landfall in the Guangdong city of Taishan, packing wind speeds of 162 kilometres per hour. State television broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen.
All high-speed and some normal rail services in Guangdong and Hainan provinces were also halted, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Co. said.
More than 2.4 million were evacuated by Sunday evening ahead of the massive typhoon, with nearly 50,000 fishing boats called back to port, state media reported.
In Hong Kong, the storm shattered glass windows on commercial skyscrapers, felled trees, tore bamboo scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded some areas of the city with waist-high waters, South China Morning Post reported. The paper said the heavy rains brought storm surges of three metres (10 feet) around Hong Kong.
Because of the storm, 889 flights were cancelled on Sunday, Hong Kong Airport Authority said. The city’s Airport Express train, bus service and ferry services between the airport and all of the Pearl River Delta ports were also suspended.
Cathay Pacific Airways said in a statement that it was experiencing “severe disruptions”. The airline cancelled more than 400 flights, while Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Airlines grounded their fleets on Sunday.
Thai Airways International will use larger aircraft to transport its passengers affected by flight cancellations in Hong Kong, according to a message posted on the airline’s Facebook account.
AirAsia Group axed 29 flights on Saturday, disrupting travellers from Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shantou, Bangkok Post reported.
Philippines Airlines scrapped 41 Saturday flights, including those to Hangzhou and Tokyo, it said on Facebook.
In Macau, next door to Hong Kong, casinos were ordered to close from 11 pm Saturday, the first time such action was taken in the city, the South China Morning Post reported.