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Danny Mok

Sammy Heung

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. For the latest typhoon news, click here.
Hong Kong issued the No 8 typhoon signal at 11.10pm on Wednesday and it will remain in force at least until 10am the following morning, resulting in the suspension of school classes, as Tropical Storm Toraji edges closer to the city.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory database, it is the latest No 8 signal on record, beating November 9, 1972, when Typhoon Pamela struck.
Toraji is one of four storms to emerge simultaneously in the western North Pacific and South China Sea in November for the first time since records began.
“With Toraji gradually edging closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River [Delta], local winds are strengthening gradually, with the associated squally showers starting to affect the region,” the Observatory said.
“According to the present forecast track, Toraji will become closest to the Pearl River [Delta] on Thursday morning, skirting around 150km [93 miles] to the south of Hong Kong.”




The No 8 warning would remain in force at least until 10am on Thursday, it said. Afterwards, Toraji was expected to weaken and move away from Hong Kong, with local winds moderating gradually during the day.
The Observatory said it would assess when to downgrade the warning to the No 3 alert, depending on Toraji’s movement and the weakening trend of local winds.
At 11pm, Toraji was estimated to be about 170km south-southeast of Hong Kong and was expected to move west or west-northwest slowly, edging closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River Delta.
The Jockey Club cancelled three races at Happy Valley on Wednesday night ahead of the No 8 signal to ensure the safety of personnel and spectators.
The government said classes at all morning and whole-day schools, ranging from kindergartens to secondary schools, would be suspended on Thursday, a day after the No 3 signal resulted in kindergartens suspending afternoon classes.
Arrangement for afternoon and evening schools would be announced on Thursday, it added.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the city’s bourse operator, however, will for the first time implement a new mechanism which came into force on September 23 that allows trading to continue during typhoons and torrential rain.

Airport operations and flights were running normally on Wednesday night, the Airport Authority said. It reminded passengers to check with their airlines for the latest flight information before heading to the airport.
The city’s flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways, said its flights were not currently affected but the situation could change as conditions developed.
The MTR, Light Rail and connecting buses would maintain normal service frequencies until close of traffic.
The MTR also extended the Airport Express train service. The last Airport Express train departing from the airport to Hong Kong station was to be extended to about 1.45am to accommodate arrivals.
All daytime routes of KMB, Long Win and Citybus would operate as usual until the last scheduled departure.
KMB overnight routes will be temporarily suspended after their last departures at 1.10am, while 15 late-night or overnight special routes were suspended.
Citybus said it would also gradually suspend services of its overnight routes from 1.10am.
The Observatory said that at 8.15pm on Wednesday the maximum sustained wind speed recorded at Tate’s Cairn was 59km/h over the past hour, with gusts exceeding 87km/h.
Gale force winds are equivalent to No 8 or No 9 on the Beaufort scale, with mean speeds at 63 to 75km/h and 76 to 87km/h, respectively.


Olivia Lee Shuk-ming, the Observatory’s senior scientific officer, said Toraji was expected to be closest to the city on Thursday morning.
“It is moving to the west-northwest and it will slowly move to somewhere with cooler seawater temperatures. It will affect its intensity, which may weaken,” she told a radio show.
“We are also predicting that as the vertical wind shear may strengthen, it will cause Toraji to weaken when moving close to Hong Kong.”
She said four tropical cyclones had emerged in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea at the same time in November for the first time since records began in 1961.
“A while ago, Hong Kong was affected by Yinxing … and now Toraji and Usagi, and another tropical cyclone further away named Man-yi,” she said.
Lee explained that it was because the location of a subtropical ridge of high pressure this year was stronger and farther north than normal.
“It made the tropical cyclones appear in the western North Pacific farther north than those that appeared in November in the past,” she said.
Lee said the past tropical cyclones emerging in November were further south, affecting the south of the Philippines, the South China Sea and Vietnam.


But this year, the cyclones moved to Luzon after developing, then entered the South China Sea and affected Hong Kong, she said.
She added that the four cyclones were able to form as there was enough distance between each other.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Usagi, located over the seas east of the Philippines, intensified into a severe typhoon on Wednesday. It was positioned about 1,340km east-southeast of Hong Kong as of 8pm, the Observatory said.
The forecaster said it would move in the general direction of the vicinity of the Luzon Strait in the next couple of days.
The subsequent movement of the typhoon was still uncertain, with a higher chance of it heading towards seas east of Taiwan.
Concurrently, Tropical Storm Man-yi, now situated over the western North Pacific, was projected to move into the central and northern regions of the South China Sea early next week.
Toraji means beautiful flower that blooms unnoticed in Korean. Usagi is named after the Japanese word for the Lepus constellation, while Man-yi refers to Hong Kong’s High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung.
The organiser of fundraising event Oxfam Trailwalker 2024, scheduled to take place from Friday to Sunday, said it would be cancelled if the No 8 signal or a black rainstorm alert were in effect. Decisions would be made based on safety considerations in case of extreme weather, it added.
The organiser also said it was closely monitoring the situation and would make announcements on Thursday.
The event has more than 4,000 participants and over 3,000 volunteers.
Additional reporting by Ambrose Li


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Hong Kong weather

The forecaster says winds will strengthen later in the day. Photo: Nora Tam

Toraji is expected to skirt within around 150km to the south of Hong Kong on Thursday. Photo: Nora Tam

Pedestrians walk in Central under the Storm Signal No.8. Photo: Sam Tsang

It is not the first time for Hong Kong to experience a No 8 signal in November. Photo: Eugene Lee

Stormy times this week with (from left) Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi and Man-yi. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong’s stock market opened for business under typhoon conditions for the first time. Photo: Sam Tsang

People take pictures at Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade under the No 8 signal. Photo: May Tse

Commuters go back to work after the Observatory lowers the No 8 signal. Photo: Sun Yeung

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Classes at all morning and whole-day schools will be suspended on Thursday, government says


Classes at all morning and whole-day schools will be suspended on Thursday, government says.


Extreme weather

Weather

Hong Kong society