HK Security Minister Wants to Prosecute Storm Chasers

A man sits on a bench in Tseung Kwan O with waves coming

As Hong Kong cleans up and gets back to business after Super Typhoon Ragasa, there are many questions about what to do next time. Climate change has made typhoon winds stronger and can cause greater destruction than before, as evidenced by the Fullerton Hotel in Ocean Park, with its glass entrance doors smashed by the waves, and restaurants along the Tseung Kwan O waterfront also destroyed.

Experts are calling for developing mangroves and oyster reefs to act as natural barriers, and also help clean up the water quality as well (which would be good), while others are calling for taller breakwaters, higher floodgates and more swales, sunken areas that can retain water instead of building underground stormwater facilities.

Waves pummelled low-lying areas in Hong Kong

These are all great ideas and hopefully they will be implemented in the next year or so.

But what to do about the silly people who wandered out in dangerous conditions and got themselves injured?

A family of four were taking a selfie when a giant wave pushed them off their feet. A man sat on a bench as a giant tidal wave came at him and he didn't even move. Of course the force of nature washed him off immediately.

Now Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung is looking into existing legislation and consider enacting new laws.

"I felt heartbroken seeing parents treating [storm chasing] as fun and bringing their children along to watch the waves. You are actually endangering your children," he said. "Think of your family and the rescuers who take a risk to save you."

Tang is looking into prosecuting storm chasers

Tang says current laws could target storm chasers, and that bringing children along could be considered as neglect. 

He suggested residents who refused to leave dangerous areas when ordered by police could be charged with obstructing a police officer.

Currently storm chasers and surfers can be fined HK$2,000 and face up to 14 days' imprisonment for anyone entering a public beach closed during extreme weather.

While Tang did not say how many people were arrested or charged for storm chasing during Super Typhoon Ragasa, he wanted to warn the public of the dangers of being outside during typhoons...

Aftermath of Super Typhoon Ragasa

The Fullerton Hotel at Ocean Park was pummelled by waves

Super Typhoon Ragasa has come and gone from Hong Kong after over 10 hours and for the most part the city was relatively unscathed. Friends reported the incessant howling of the wind made it difficult to sleep at night, and they resorted to watching the Hong Kong Observatory updates of the massive storm's path.

The observatory has now lowered the signal to No. 8 though the Amber rainstorm warning is still in place. In some places it's hardly raining, but hey, that's what the weather forecasters are saying.

Waterfront restaurants like these were damaged

According to the Hong Kong government, there were 62 reports of injuries (37 men, 25 female), 816 people are sheltering in 50 temporary shelters, there are 437 reports of fallen trees, so far one report of a landslide, and 15 reports of flooding.

So far it seems the Fullerton Hotel at Ocean Park got a massive walloping from Ragasa. The waves pushed their waves into the entrance, breaking the glass doors and flowing into the foyer, sweeping one man off his feet in the process. "Get out!" can be heard in the video, though the clip changes to people sweeping water out.

There's also security footage of a waterfront restaurant in Tseung Kwan O where waves also pounded into the shop and practically destroyed the whole dining area; one can probably assume the kitchen is a disaster zone as well. There are comments suggesting people patronise the restaurant once it reopens... but can it after it was literally turned upside down?

Hong Kong Braces for Super Typhoon Ragasa

Masking tape and vegetables at the wet market

Super Typhoon Ragasa is approaching Hong Kong, and the Observatory has just raised the No. 8 storm signal almost 30 minutes ago.

Ragasa, a Filipino word that means "rapid" or "fast motion" already crossed the Luzon Strait 

with winds clocking at 230km/h, making it the most powerful storm in the world so far this year.

Two shopping carts filled with instant noodles

People in Hong Kong are now rushing home, and bringing back whatever supplies they can find to survive at least two days.

Supermarkets and wet markets were swarmed by customers, with fresh vegetables and fruit to quickly disappear, along with eggs, meat and bread.

On social media there's a video of a man who filled two supermarket trolleys with around 70 instant noodle cups and several bags of frozen dim sum. Was he planning to eat that all himself?

One shopper described the mad rush as busy as before Lunar New Year. The 67-year-old woman bought more than 1kg of vegetables, including two cabbages, five dragon fruit and four oranges, that she believed would last till the weekend.

However, one couple that wasn't as quick to buy essential food items could only find snacks, though they did still have some food at home. 

Some people prioritised buying up toilet paper to ride out the storm...

Slim pickings for those not organised

And yet there were those who believe in using masking tape to tape up their windows. Lo Kok-keung, a former Hong Kong Polytechnic University engineer, says there are three major causes of window breakage during typhoons: strong winds that generate vibrations that cause cracks, high wind speeds that blow up debris that breaks glass, and strong winds that deform glass.

In a bid to minimise the risk of glass shattering, Lo suggests taping the Chinese character for rice (米) on windows, which he says provides more support points and reduces the likelihood of glass fragments shattering.

Shops were selling masking tape like hot cakes, with one renovation store in Hoi Wan selling 200 rolls in the past few days. 

"People have heard that this coming typhoon is bigger than usual, so they're stocking up just in case," the manager said, adding that most customers were buying more than two rolls and many were new faces.

"Some were buying as many as 10 at a time, especially those who live in places with many windows or are purchasing for high-rise offices."

It's Raining Puppies in HK

Typhoon Koinu arriving in HK as imagined by @surrealhk

The Hong Kong Observatory has raised the T1 signal as the city braces for Typhoon Koinu to arrive on Thursday, and already the memes have been raining dogs, dogs, and more dogs.

That's because koinu in Japanese means "puppy". 

As a result, creative designers have taken to photoshopping the cutest puppies in the eye of the storm.

Unfortunately the impending typhoon has led to a severe disruption in the outdoor night bazaars that have been held in several districts.

Entrepreneurs trying to make a quick buck will have to suspend their businesses until the typhoon (and rain) go away.

However, some are questioning the effectiveness of these night bazaars.

"The success of the night bazaars should not be measured solely by economic factors, but by social ones, as they managed to get more visitors to the waterfront," said Ivan Wong Wang-tai, chairman of the Wan Chai District Council.

"But how much money can a night market earn? We should focus on how to fundamentally improve our economy, through hi-tech manufacturing and finance for example, instead of relying on this."

Agreed. Night markets are the only things the government can think of to stimulate the economy?

Nevertheless, here's hoping Typhoon Koinu isn't as destructive as Typhoon Haikui!

Fact of the Day: HK's Pathetic Tree Recycling Rate

A man inspects a tree felled by the typhoon

Hong Kong is still cleaning up after Super Typhoon Saola, with 1,800 tonnes of tree waste. Most of it comprises of leaves and branches. But get this -- the city has only one wood recycler and it only takes logs. 

As a result only 15 percent of the tree waste is recycled into wood products, like boards, beams, chips and sawdust.

People make their way through tree debris

The rest goes into the landfill.

Green groups are criticising the recycler, Y Park for not taking more of the wood waste and saying it should be broken down for composting to be used in future parks or maintaining current ones.

Also shocking is that Y Park was only set up in 2021 to "rachet up the scale of yard waste recycling and diversify the types of recyclable products," according to its website.

But it was because of what happened after Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 that green groups complained the government dumped 20,480 tonnes of tree waste into landfills without first seeing if it could be recycled.

Using government figures from the past 10 years, green group Friends of the Earth says less than 3 percent of the city's yard waste had been recycled -- around 2,000 tonnes out of 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes per year.

Friends of the Earth board governor Caroline Law says Y Park only accepts logs, while other garden waste, such as grass, leaves and branches must be sent to landfills. 

Vast majority of tree waste ended up in landfills

As a result, "there's no incentive for them to change that," she says.

In addition, Y Park's website claims it handled 30 tonnes in its first year of operation, and would gradually increase to 60 tonnes, but there is no update on how much it processes currently...

Sounds like there is more box ticking than earnestly trying to cut down the amount of waste going into landfills. Tree and garden waste can easily be composted and given to farmers to use as fertiliser to help grow crops. Or maybe that hadn't been considered before?

Hong Kong Deluged by Flooding

A bus submerged in the torrential rains that flooded HK

A few hours ago pictures and videos of the epic flooding in Hong Kong were posted all over social media -- the muddy waterfall pouring into Wong Tai Sin MTR station, vehicles plowing through water in the Cross Harbour Tunnel, a woman still holding onto her umbrella as she slid about 50 metres along a street, trying to grab onto the railing.

The city is still under a black rainstorm warning 14 hours after it was posted, with rain falling 158.1mm deep between 11pm and midnight last night, an unprecedented amount since records were kept in 1884. In total over 400mm of rain has fallen.

Needless to say today schools are closed, and most people are working from home as the black rainstorm warning is expected to continue until midnight this evening.

Wong Tai Sin MTR station deluged by water

Chai Wan seems to have received the brunt of the intense rain left over from Typhoon Haikui. The New Territories also suffered with the Shenzhen government giving very little notice to its Hong Kong counterpart that it would discharge water from the reservoir -- that knock-down effect left 15 minutes for residents in the area to prepare to evacuate.

So far there are no reports of fatalities, but residents are not impressed by the government's response, with the Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki holding a press conference right now (2.30pm HK time) to report on what the authorities are doing together with the Security Bureau some 12 hours later.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu didn't make any public statements and instead published two social media posts urging people to stay safe. Hongkongers bombarded the comments section questioning why the government's response was so behind, compared to the preparations made when Typhoon Saola was approaching the city.

One commenter by the name of Veronica Law wrote: "Not everyone was on Facebook. Why wasn't even an SMS sent to residents in this kind of situation?" Another user named Emi An said: "Is the chief executive sleeping? Are you aware of the severe flooding out there?"

A shopping mall in Chai Wan flooded

At the press conference going on now, acting director of drainage services Chui Si-kay said Hong Kong's drainage system could not cope with the torrential rainfall, and denied that Shenzhen releasing water from the reservoir did not cause flooding in the New Territories, that it was all from the rainfall. 

One may never be quite sure what the situation was there, but for sure the city will have a lot of water and sludge to get rid of in the streets, in shopping malls, MTR stations, and people's flats. 

There are still questions on how the city's authorities and the Hong Kong Observatory did not prepare residents with the possibility of a deluge of rain...

Typhoon Saola Blows Through Hong Kong

Over 1,500 trees were reported fallen all over the city

Typhoon Saola blew through Hong Kong yesterday and most of the city was left in tact from the T10 tropical cyclone that packed winds at 200km/hr.

Eighty-six people were sent to hospital, while there were reports of 1,545 fallen trees and two landslides. Many of the trees were strewn across roads, causing traffic headaches this morning on major thoroughfares, like the Island Eastern Corridor and Gloucester Road in Wan Chai, though city crews did their best to remove most of the debris.

A tree that replaced one after Mangkut also fell

Someone posted on X, formerly known as Twitter that a tree by a gas station that had replaced one that fell after Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 had fallen after Typhoon Saola. Too bad it wasn't mature enough to hang on, or perhaps the space for it didn't allow its roots to spread further into the ground?

My cousin reported that during T10, all outdoor MTR trains were not running, while there was flooding in Tai O, and minor flooding along the Shing Mun River in Sha Tin. 

Many residents in Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O reported their flats were swaying during the brunt of the typhoon's force, with some experiencing headaches and motion sickness.

Reminds me of Typhoon Mangkhut when I felt my building swaying too, and I felt a bit dizzy and had to lie down for a bit!

Tai O experienced flooding after Typhoon Saola

As Hong Kong returns back to "normal", tropical Haikui may approach the city on Monday.

Hopefully it will not induce residents to ransack supermarkets like when Typhoon Saola was approaching -- people grabbed whatever they could, sweeping shelves clean as if they were preparing to hunker down for weeks.

People seem to forget that a typhoon rarely lasts longer than 24 hours and so there is no need to hoard food!

Raining with Memories

Do you remember walking down the ramp at Kai Tak Airport?

Soon after President Xi Jinping left Hong Kong, typhoon Chaba gathered strength and the Hong Kong Observatory declared it was T3 and soon T8.

A friend lamented it was too bad the typhoon arrived 24 hours late...

The artist wants to create nostalgia around Kai Tak

Nevertheless it seemed like an ominous sign, much like 25 years earlier.

That's what I remember most about the handover -- it was dumping with rain outside. Many felt it was not a good sign of what was to come.

The typhoon's gale force winds also disrupted flights in and out of Hong Kong International Airport, which is probably another sign that the typhoon really is that bad.

Speaking of airports and anniversaries, Hong Kong artist Christopher K Ho has created an installation in Vancouver to remember Kai Tak Airport before it closed in 1998.

Next to the Shangri-La hotel is a large art installation that is somewhat reminiscent of the ramp that passengers walked down to greet loved ones waiting for them in the arrival hall.

Even floor tiles are reminiscent of the arrivals hall

It was such a cramped space, but the ramp gave people an opportunity to spot their friends and family and rush over to them on the ramp before helping them push their luggage carts down and towards the taxi stand.

Remember those days?

It was such a chaotic scene that one of the first few times we arrived in Hong Kong it was quite scary seeing so many people staring at you!

Ho calls this work CX889, the Cathay Pacific flight number from Hong Kong to Vancouver. In addition to the ramp there's a tall clock (that doesn't work), as well as a lone baggage cart secured in place. 

Ho even replicates the tiles that are at the end of the ramp, with the words "Please don't...", asking bystanders to not crowd in that space.

There is water collected on the floor, making me wonder if it was deliberate or from the previous days of rain that created this giant puddle of reflection.

Does it bring up nostalgic feelings? You have to be of a certain age to remember it, in other words older than 24 years old to remember what Kai Tak's arrival hall looked like.

A lone luggage cart stands by the ramp

Now Kai Tak is a giant construction site, with some super tall residential buildings completed, others being built and lots of empty land around too. Some Chinese developers ran out of money and had to sell at a much cheaper price than what they had paid for it.

More infrastructure, particularly public transport needs to be sorted as well as shops, supermarkets and so on before people might be interested in living in the area. 

It's funny how Hong Kong changes so much, but people's memories are a constant.

CX889

Christopher K Ho

Offsite

1100 West Georgia Street

Vancouver

Now until October 16, 2022