Hong Kong is starting to gear up for (super) typhoon Usagi. People have gone out shopping to stock up on food in case the so called T8 signal will be hoisted.
As a consequence Hong Kong will sort of shut down. Transport like the MTR and buses will still be operating thought many shops and offices will start closing down. Good thing is...that apparently cinema's stay open! So might be a good time to check out some of the movies at iMax theatre in my neighbourhood.
Depending on the area different measures will be taken. As can be seen from the picture on the left, the typhoon coincides with a very high tide. Well, it was Mid autumn festival which is linked to the so called Autumnal Equinox. In short, this is when the moon is close to the earth. The expected strong winds, including with the high tides creates a major risk for flooding in certain lower areas of the territory.
Residents in the Tai Po and other areas have been preparing by setting up barriers and bringing electrical and other precious goods to higher grounds.
An interesting observation in front of my house was the total absence of boats. There are a few major construction projects going on related to the Macau - Zhuhai - Hong Kong bridge. Normally this is full of activities of boats shuttling between the work areas and Lantau. As you can see on the total left and right pictures below, no boats or other activity can be spotted. Interesting observation is the total absence of boats, which probably are moved to Typhoon shelters in the neighbourhood.
The same would count for the construction site, although they are excused as it is Sunday. They have been rigging their site to prevent stuff flying around. With that some of the cranes have been put in the right mode so they can withstand the wind.
One decision that will impact many travellers is flight operations at Hong Kong Airport. Flight operations will be impacted and travellers might want to check in with their airlines or travel support. It looks like Hong Kong airport is filling up nicely at this time.. so bring those snacks, ebooks and other stuff to keep busy :).
Lets see where Usagi will take us over the next 48hrs.
update 15:45 local time: Looks like the airport has mainly Cathay Pacific flights ready to go and clear the airport.
