Hong Kong has gone all out in preparations “with widened safety margins” for Super Typhoon Ragasa, the city’s leader has said, as the weather forecaster is set to issue the No 8 warning signal on Tuesday afternoon.
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The Hong Kong Observatory said it would issue the No 8 typhoon signal at 2.20pm as Ragasa edged closer to the city, which is expected to bring hurricane-force winds with speeds of up to 230km/h (143mph) and thunderstorms. The super typhoon is forecast to be the closest to the city on Wednesday morning.
As of 10am, Ragasa was about 460km east-southeast of Hong Kong. The forecaster said it would assess the need to issue higher warning signals in the latter part of Tuesday night to early Wednesday.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu warned that the storm could pose significant threats to the community with rapidly deteriorating weather, heavy rains and thunderstorms, stressing that the government’s primary goal was to “ensure the safety of all people in Hong Kong”.
“While the forces of nature may test our resolve, let there be no doubt that Hong Kong is going all out and making preparations all round with widened safety margins and heightened readiness,” he said at the China-Asean Prosecutors-General Conference.
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“We shall brave the storm [with] resilience, determination and unity.”
He said that his administration had made extensive advanced preparations and stepped up preventive measures with all emergency response teams in full readiness.