Hong Kong shuts down as Super Typhoon Yagi edges closer

Hong Kong ground to a halt on Thursday as Super Typhoon Yagi edged closer to the city and prompted the first No 8 storm warning of the year, forcing class suspensions, flight cancellations and the scaling back of public transport services to the bare minimum.

With maximum sustained wind speeds near its centre reaching 210km/h (130mph), Yagi was described by the Observatory as a “mature storm” and was expected to remain at super typhoon strength as it skirted about 300km southwest of the city on Friday morning.

The weather forecaster issued the No 8 signal at 6.20pm and the warning was expected to remain in force until at least until Friday noon.

“Gale winds associated with Yagi are expected to affect the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary [on Friday] morning,” the Observatory said.

The forecaster also issued an amber rainstorm warning at 9.30pm, indicating that heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall generally over the city, exceeding 30 millimetres per hour, and that it is likely to continue. It was cancelled at 11.40pm.