Macao issued the second highest storm warning, at a time when Super Typhoon Saola is about 50 kilometers from the territory that is in a state of immediate prevention.
“The streets are naturally deserted of people, the wind is already strong enough, and the rain is also feeling strong, although it seems that it will intensify in the next few hours. The windows are closed with x-shaped tape precisely to protect the windows from what could be a very strong impact of the wind”, describes José Carlos Matías, director of the newspaper Plataforma de Macao, in statements to TSF.
The Government of Macao has decreed the closure of casinos, schools and parking lots and more than a hundred flights have been canceled at the international airport.
More than 150 people have sought refuge in emergency reception centers and there is evidence of one injury.
“In these times there are always several mechanisms that are already activated and society is already used to typhoons at this time of year. In fact, the center of the tropical storm, that is, the eye of the typhoon, is only 50 kilometers away from Macao, is quite close, and the indications regarding the strength of the wind vary between 73 and 117 kilometers/hour, indicating to the meteorological authorities that the wind is already intensifying and that this is always a problem that generates incidents of falling scaffolding, falling branches or trees, because they are uprooted by the force of the wind”, explains José Carlos Matías.
The probability of raising the alert signal to the maximum (10) is already considered “moderate to relatively high”, indicated the Directorate of Meteorological and Geophysical Services (SMG) of Macao, and should take place between 01:00 and 03:00. :00 hours this Saturday (18:00 or 20:00 on Friday), when the super typhoon is expected to pass within a radius of 50 kilometers from the territory.
The authorities have also issued the second maximum flood alert (red), estimating that the water level on the sidewalk will reach values of between 1.5 and 2.5 meters, at a time when Macao is in a state of prevention. immediate.
José Carlos Matías also affirms that in the minutes in which he spoke with the TSF There were “stronger winds and significantly intensified rains.”
The borders were closed and the public transport service was suspended, as well as road traffic on the bridges.
The Consulate General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong also announced the temporary closure, until the alert level drops to level 3.
A high alert was issued in mainland China, as was Hong Kong. Chinese meteorological services have already indicated that Saola could become the strongest typhoon since 1949 to hit the Pearl River Delta, which includes cities such as Macao, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
The tropical storm warning scale is made up of signals 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10, whose emission depends on the proximity of the storm and the intensity of the wind.
Flood warnings have five levels: blue, yellow, orange, red, and black.
In September 2018, Typhoon Mangkhut caused 40 injuries and severe flooding in the territory. A year earlier, Hato caused 10 deaths and 240 injuries.
Source: TSF
