The eye of Super Typhoon Ragasa is larger than Hong Kong Island.DALE DE LA REY/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong was on high alert Tuesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest storm on earth so far this year, barrels towards the territory.
The massive typhoon – the eye of which is larger than Hong Kong Island – already caused chaos in the northern Philippines and parts of Taiwan as it passed into the South China Sea. It is due to make landfall in Guangdong early Wednesday morning local time, bringing hurricane force winds with speeds of up to 230 kph to Hong Kong, Macao and the southern Chinese coast.
The Hong Kong Observatory said Ragasa could have a “considerably larger” impact on the territory than 2018’s Super Typhoon Mangkhut, which left hundreds injured, tens of thousands without power, and uprooted more than 60,000 trees. Mangkhut also blew out windows across the city – in buildings designed to withstand powerful storms – and tore up cobbled paths and electricity boxes, damage that took months and millions of dollars to repair.
Speaking Tuesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee said the territory would “brave the storm with resilience, determination and unity.”
“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,” Mr. Lee said.
At least six people were injured and over 7,000 people were evacuated in Taiwan when typhoon Ragasa’s outer band swept south of the island on Tuesday.
The Associated Press
School and university classes have been suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday, as has non-emergency treatment at hospitals. Hundreds of flights bound for Hong Kong International Airport – one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs – have been cancelled or otherwise disrupted.
In neighbouring Shenzhen, more than 400,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes, while other residents were stockpiling food and supplies in case of flooding. The tech hub has also suspended its subway system, while at least nine other cities across Guangdong province had ordered school and business closures as of Tuesday afternoon.
Hong Kong has spent decades investing in storm protections – including building large tunnels through Hong Kong Island and other built-up areas to alleviate flooding – but its ability to withstand severe weather is being tested as storms become stronger and more common as a result of the ongoing climate disaster. Much of Hong Kong is built on reclaimed land, making it severely vulnerable to rising sea levels and greater storm surges this brings about.
“Nature has all these mechanisms along natural shorelines – coastal wetlands, corals, oyster beds, mangroves – to make sure they don’t rapidly disintegrate,” said Benjamin Horton, Dean of the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong. “But we’ve built right out to the shoreline, which means there’s no buffer room, and then we’ve reclaimed land.”
This summer has already seen record-breaking heat and rainfall in Hong Kong, with the territory issuing five black rainstorm warnings – the highest level – in a single year, four of which were issued in August alone.
Prof. Horton said Hong Kong’s warning systems and preparation for natural disasters were “second to none,” but he noted like many places around the world that have invested in storm defences, this does not mean Hong Kong is “resilient to the climate of the future.”
“It’s a wicked problem, climate change,” Prof. Horton said. “And there can be an over-reliance on using past data to understand the future.”
Given the number of severe weather events this year alone, he said he hoped the government would step up cooperation with scientists and the private sector in terms of improving Hong Kong’s modelling of future threats, resilience and mitigation by reducing the territory’s carbon emissions.
“Hong Kong needs to think about how – as a very energy-intensive city – does it invest in renewables. Does it move to green hydrogen and small-scale nuclear,” Prof. Horton said. “It has to shift away from petroleum.”
Hundreds of flights bound for Hong Kong International Airport – one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs – have been cancelled or otherwise disrupted.Chan Long Hei/The Associated Press
Hong Kong has an official target of reducing carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2035, and achieving net-zero electricity generation by 2050. The territory is due to review its progress in addressing climate goals early next year.
Mr. Lee, the territory’s chief executive, faced criticism from environmental NGO Greenpeace this month for failing to mention a “single word” about climate adaptation in his annual policy address.
“Extreme weather in Hong Kong has become increasingly frequent in recent years, with strong typhoons, heavy rain and extremely hot weather repeatedly breaking records,” Greenpeace said in a statement, urging the government to “formulate comprehensive adaptation policies” to “improve Hong Kong’s climate resilience.”
This should include “more aggressive solar and wind energy goals” the NGO said, and policies to reduce energy consumption.
A motorist wades through a flooded road, following heavy rains intensified by Super Typhoon Ragasa, in Apalit, Pampanga province, Philippines, on Tuesday.Lisa Marie David/Reuters