Typhoon Nuri shuts down Hong Kong


Typhoon Nuri shuts down Hong Kong 17 minutes ago



HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong was buffeted by gale force winds on Friday as typhoon Nuri churned toward the major financial hub, with most of the city and its markets shut down in anticipation of a direct hit.

The tropical cyclone signal No. 8 was hoisted at 7.40 a.m. Hong Kong time (2340 GMT) as typhoon Nuri closed to within 100 kilometers of the city after wreaking a path of destruction in the northern Philippines.

Several flights were cancelled.

Howling winds swept across the former British colony early on Friday and white-tipped waves thrashed in Victoria harbor.

"It may be necessary to issue higher signals this afternoon," the Hong Kong Observatory said, adding gales were already affecting many parts of the territory with winds speed of up to 98kph recorded.

The No. 9 signal if raised, would be the first time since September 2003, that a storm of such severity has hit Hong Kong.

In China, 250,000 people were being evacuated from coastal areas in southern Guangdong province in what weathermen there are calling the strongest typhoon to hit the province this year, the South China Morning Post reported.

Much of Hong Kong ground to a standstill, with the closure of financial markets and offices, along with schools, courts and most public transport services.

Several airlines including Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air said all afternoon and evening flights would be cancelled, with over 150 flights having already been cancelled or delayed by noon.

The city's Olympic equestrian events however, were spared the full wrath of typhoon Nuri, with the last showjumping event successfully concluded last night as the weather began to worsen.

(Reporting by Donny Kwok and James Pomfret; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)