Hong Kong scraps morning stock trading as Usagi reaches China: HONG KONG, Sept 23 — Hong Kong’s stock exchange canceled the morning trading session in the wake of Typhoon Usagi, which killed at least 20 people in southern China after making landfall. The No. 8 Storm Signal, the third-highest level, was lowered to No. 3 at 9:20am local time, the Hong Kong Observatory said. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. said it scrapped morning trading today as the reduction took place after 9am, though markets will resume in the afternoon. Thousands were evacuated from China’s coastal areas as the storm knocked out power lines, while travellers celebrating the Chinese Mid-autumn Festival were delayed across the region with more than 440 flights affected in Hong Kong. At least 20 people were killed in Guangdong province, where the storm made land 7:40pm yesterday in Shanwei city, the Nanfang Daily reported, citing local authorities. “In the past few hours, Usagi weakened significantly and continued to move away from Hong Kong,” the observatory said. “The local winds continue to moderate.” The storm, rated the world’s strongest typhoon this year while passing Taiwan, was about 240 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong and moving west-northwest at about 22 kilometres an hour across China’s Guangdong province, the observatory said at 9am. The Hong Kong Investment Funds Association rescheduled its annual conference, while CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said it will continue with its 20th investors forum. Gusty winds “It was a bit gusty, and kind of cool to watch out of the window,” said Josh Ludlow, who moved to Hong Kong this month to work at a law firm in the Central business district. “Everyone was really prepared, and just getting on with business.” Banks in the former British colony will reopen within two hours of signal 8 been dropped, the Hong Kong Association of Banks said in a statement. Intercity rail services between Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, Zhuhai and Shenzhen have stopped, according to the official microblog of operator Guangzhou Railway (Group) Corp. Some bullet train services were cancelled yesterday, with others also scrapped today, it said. Power cut In Fujian province, Usagi-related storms knocked out three power lines early yesterday, cutting off electricity to about 170,000 households before it was restored to all but 25,000 by noon, Xinhua said. The province issued a yellow typhoon warning, the next to lowest on the country’s four-level scale, at 4am today before the China Meteorological Administration downgraded it at 6am to blue, the lowest level. Thousands of people were evacuated from low-lying coastal areas in the province, Xinhua reported yesterday. The flood-control headquarters ordered reinforced patrols so that emergency repairs could be carried out to prevent embankment breaches. Usagi dumped as much as 70 centimetres of rain in Taiwan’s east on September 21, left 12 people injured and disrupted more than 100 flights, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said. While passing Taiwan, it had sustained wind speeds of 205 kilometres per hour, making it a super typhoon, according to a tracking map on the Hong Kong Observatory website. In the Philippines, flooding forced 242 people in the north of the country to flee their homes for temporary shelters on September 18, the country’s disaster agency said. Flights delayed Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest carrier, said it will resume operations from mid-day after suspending some services yesterday. Air China Ltd. cancelled 148 flights as of yesterday as airports in Xiamen, Shantou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau were affected. “It’s probably the worst weekend ever,” Jessica Coelho, a Hong Kong-based human resources executive who was stranded in Singapore, said by telephone yesterday. “It’s a nightmare trying to get back. Everyone is trying to get on a plane home.” The government opened temporary shelters, with 274 people seeking refuge, while it received 69 reports of fallen trees. As of 3am, 13 people had sought emergency medical treatment at the city’s hospitals, with six of them discharged, the Hospital Authority said. Hong Kong, situated off China’s southern coast, gets on average about six tropical cyclones annually, according to the weather bureau. Usagi is the most powerful storm to threaten Hong Kong since Severe Typhoon Utor in August. A severe typhoon, one grade lower than a super typhoon, is equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning “extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage,” according to the US National Hurricane Center website. “I came to Hong Kong for work last week and spent my weekend here,” Jay Johnson, a US-based businessman, said yesterday. “It was a lovely stay but now it’s such a headache getting out. I need to be in Munich for a business meeting on Monday, but now I may need to cancel it.” — Bloomberg dlvr.it/41GlDd
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 02:30:08 +0000
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