Hong Kong has just come out of a Black Rainstorm last week that lasted more than 11 hours and caused major flooding in various districts, but it looks like more bad weather is heading our way. According to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), the tropical cyclone Podul will enter within 800km of our city by the morning of August 13, and the Standby Signal No. 1 will be issued.
While it’s difficult to say how strong the typhoon will become, it is expected to escalate into a severe typhoon by Wednesday, intensifying as it moves across the southern part of Taiwan, before making landfall over eastern Guangdong. As of today, authorities in Taiwan are already evacuating hundreds of citizens in preparation of Typhoon Podul heading towards the southeastern city of Taitung, while around 700 people in the eastern county of Hualien will be evacuated from their homes in case a dam overflows after being damaged in a previous typhoon.
In Hong Kong, the weather on Wednesday, August 13, will be hot during the day with heat-triggered showers, and when Podul makes landfall over eastern Guangdong to southern Fujian a day later on Thursday, August 14, we can expect squally showers and heavy thunderstorms throughout the territories. Depending on Podul’s distance to Hong Kong, the intensity, and changes in local winds, the HKO will assess whether or not to issue higher tropical cyclone warning signals from later tomorrow to early Thursday.
We’ll be back with more news on Typhoon Podul as we hear them, so check back or keep an eye on weather updates on the HKO website.
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