The most powerful typhoon to hit the southern Chinese region in more than half a century left several dead as a sudden deluge swamped the gambling hub of Macau, submerging streets and stranding residents.
Macau said Thursday that eight people were killed in the former Portuguese colony, including two men found overnight in a submerged parking garage. Another 153 were injured amid extensive flooding, power outages, and the smashing of doors and windows by high winds and driving rain.
“It’s a calamity, the losses are high and a lot of buildings need repair,” said Macau lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho, adding that he heard from many people who still had no water or electricity a day after Typhoon Hato tore across the 30-square kilometre territory.
Residents waded in waist-high murky water and rows of city buses sat half-submerged on city streets, according to photos circulating among residents. Fallen trees blocked roads, causing traffic snarls, and residents lined up with buckets to collect water from public standpipes, television video showed.
Here are some dramatic videos of the deadly typhoon:
#TyphoonHato makes landfall in Zhuhai, S China's Guangdong province on Wed, with gusts of wind up to 162 km/h pic.twitter.com/V5zhO3Grlf
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 23, 2017
Watch people and trees FLUNG across the streets as Typhoon Hato smashes into Macao & Hong Kong pic.twitter.com/2LfyHMQDOF
— RT (@RT_com) August 23, 2017
Storm surge in Kowloon #typhoon #Hato #HongKong pic.twitter.com/HWhx77uGSM
— James Reynolds (@EarthUncutTV) August 23, 2017
🔴 #Hato LIVE: https://t.co/4eYgD8Zjjr Up to 100 cars may have been submerged after typhoon floods underground car park. #hongkong pic.twitter.com/58OZHPR3IL
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) August 23, 2017
Icable reporter on a fun assignment #typhoonhato pic.twitter.com/i9MupAWUmE
— Iain Martin (@_IainMartin) August 23, 2017
(With AP inputs)
