Noul 為本世紀第三靠近香港颶風 仍僅造輕微損壞

Noul came within 80km of city, making it the third closest so far this century, after Saola at 40km, and Hato and Wipha at 60km Waves hit a jetty in Kennedy Town during Typhoon Noul on Sunday. Photo: Karma Lo Typhoon Noul, which triggered a No 9 signal on Sunday, made the third-closest approach to Hong Kong by a major storm this century, but it caused relatively minor damage in the city despite violent winds rattling buildings throughout the night. It was the first No 9 signal issued since Super Typhoon Ragasa last September, which came within 100km (62 miles) of the city. Noul came within 80km, making it the third closest after Saola at 40km in 2023, and both Hato and Wipha at 60km in 2017 and 2025, respectively. The closest typhoons on record remain Alice in 1961 and Shirley in 1968. The eyes of those storms passed directly over Hong Kong, bringing winds of 120 km/h (74.5mph) and 145 km/h respectively. The next closest over in the past century was York in 1999, which passed within 20 km of the city with winds of 130km/h. All three were classified as typhoons, two tiers below super typhoons. The Observatory issued the No 8 signal at 10.10pm on Saturday, upgrading it to No 9 at 1.10am on Sunday as the storm closed in. Six hours later, at 7.10am, the warning was lowered to No 8, and by 12.40pm the No 3 signal was in force. The storm made landfall near Huizhou at around 3.50am, with maximum sustained winds near its centre reaching 45 metres per second, making it the first typhoon to hit Guangdong this year. About 350 flights and more than 190 high-speed rail services were cancelled on Sunday. The Hospital Authority said that, as of noon on Sunday, 21 people had been injured during the typhoon. They received treatment at the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals. As at 1pm, the government’s 1823 call centre and the Fire Services Department received 88 reports and 243 reports of fallen trees, respectively. The Drainage Services Department received eight reports of flooding, while 246 people sought shelter at 29 temporary government shelters opened in various districts. A man sits on a bench and braves the waves hitting Tseung Kwan O promenade during Super Typhoon Ragasa last September. Photo: Elson Li Scaffolding collapsed along Cheung Sha Wan Road on Saturday afternoon as strong winds from the approaching typhoon battered the city. In a separate incident in Kwun Tong, a passer-by was struck by a loose metal gate outside a construction site on Hoi Yuen Road. The last No 9 signal, issued during Super Typhoon Ragasa in September, lasted only about an hour before being upgraded to No 10, which remained in force for 10 hours and 40 minutes. Ragasa grounded about 600 flights and left a backlog of 1,000 services affecting 140,000 passengers. It also toppled more than 1,200 trees and injured more than 100 people across the city. At least 12 flooding incidents were reported during Ragasa, including one at the Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel in Aberdeen, where waves smashed through the lobby doors and flooded the entrance. A temporary theatre set up for the Hungry Ghost Festival collapsed in Shek Kip Mei during Super Typhoon Saola in September 2023. Photo: Yik Yeung-man Both Saola and Ragasa were super typhoons, each packing maximum sustained winds of 210 km/h near their centres – the highest tropical cyclone intensity on record for Hong Kong since 1946 while a No 8 signal or higher was in force. Unhandled type: inline-plus-widget {"type":"inline-plus-widget"} Noul, by comparison, peaked as a severe typhoon with winds reaching 155 km/h, one category below the super typhoon threshold. Super Typhoon Saola in 2023 injured at least 86 people in Hong Kong, toppled more than 3,000 trees and caused 21 flooding incidents and seven landslides across the city. About 40 cases of damaged scaffolding, signage and windows were reported, while some areas experienced power outages. About 460 flights were cancelled during the storm. Typhoon Alice killed four people and injured 20. Seven years later, Typhoon Shirley killed three and injured four, destroying more than 100 homes across the city. Typhoon York in 1999 claimed two lives and left more than 500 injured, while triggering a No 10 signal for a record 11 hours.