Typhoon Mangkhut devastated the Philippines with a greater ferocity comparable to Hurricane Florence that struck the East Coast of the United States last week. The typhoon, while heading towards China, did not spare Hong Kong. High-velocity winds uprooted trees and damaged many houses that came in its path. The weather stations of Hong Kong issued the highest storm warning alert and activities in the city came to a standstill with heavy rains flooding the streets.

CNN reports that the typhoon led to severe landslides that killed at least 54 people in the Philippines and there are fears that the figure could rise because many more might be buried in the debris.

Thousands have been evacuated from danger zones and innumerable emergency shelters have started functioning. Many tourism sites have been closed down as revealed by the official media.

Hong Kong braced to face Typhoon Mangkhut

In view of the warnings of the met office, airports closed. Hong Kong attracts tourists in large numbers and flights to the resort island of Hainan were cancelled. Hundreds of flights to Hong Kong and other airports were also canceled. Macau is a famous gambling enclave and it too shut its casinos.

The Victoria Harbor witnessed a storm surge of more than 12.8 feet above normal on Sunday.

Storms are seldom classified as T10, but this one falls into that category. Typhoon Mangkhut flooded low-lying areas in Hong Kong. The authorities took adequate precautions and warned residents in advance. That helped them to stock necessary provisions, board up their houses, and tape the windows to prevent damage from broken glass.

Situation in the Philippines a matter of concern

According to CNN, Typhoon Mangkhut already caused more than 50 landslides in the Philippines. The country has faced such ravages of nature earlier also. Five years back it was Typhoon Yolanda in which more than 6000 people died while millions were displaced.

BBC adds that Mangkhut struck the island of Luzon during the weekend.

The death toll in one of the landslides in a mining site was 33 with another 29 reported missing. The toll could go up and search and rescue missions are continuing. In the opinion of Victorio Palangdan, the Mayor of Itogen, the casualty figures could go beyond 100. Natural disasters of this nature take a heavy toll of lives and leave the infrastructure crippled.

The monster typhoon hit mainland China today, which is not used to such onslaughts s from nature.
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