Macau’s Signal No. 3 lasts 20 hours as Hong Kong raises alert to Signal No. 9

Severe Tropical Storm Noul prompted a prolonged Typhoon Signal No. 3 in Macau lasting more than 20 hours, while Hong Kong escalated its warning to the significantly higher Signal No. 9.

While Macau’s Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) kept Signal No. 3 in force from 6 p.m. on Saturday through yesterday afternoon, Hong Kong raised its alert to Signal No. 9 in the early hours of yesterday morning as Noul made a rare “eastern approach” landfall, passing approximately 80 kilometers northeast of the city – a phenomenon Hong Kong media described as the first such Signal No. 9 since Typhoon Molave in 2009.

Reports attributed the unusually strong winds recorded in Hong Kong to the storm’s close proximity to the territory and a more westward trajectory than forecast, caused by weak steering currents. The Hong Kong Observatory had already downgraded the alert to Signal No. 1 by yesterday afternoon, earlier than Macau.

While Signal No. 3 remained in effect, Macau’s weather station maintained that the chance of upgrading to Signal No. 8 was still low to moderate, even as it noted that the likelihood of such an upgrade yesterday morning and early in the day had been classified as moderate. At the time, the bureau reported that Noul was centered about 200 kilometers east of Macau, moving northwestward at approximately 15 kilometers per hour toward the eastern coast of Guangdong, on a slightly more westerly path than forecast – bringing it closer to the Pearl River Estuary, with Macau positioned on the fringe of its Category 8 wind radius.

Reportedly, Noul made landfall as a severe typhoon at approximately 3:50 a.m. near Pinghai Town, Huidong County, with maximum winds of Category 14 near its center – marking the first typhoon to hit Guangdong this year and the strongest to make landfall on the mainland so far.

By yesterday morning, Guangdong province had relocated over 800,000 people, with cities including Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, and Dongguan implementing “five-stop” or partial “five-stop” measures, suspending work, classes, and other activities. In Macau, pre-primary, primary, and special education classes were suspended for the full day, while secondary education continued as normal.

Following a temporary closure from midnight yesterday, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge main bridge resumed normal traffic and customs operations at noon, while the bridge’s shuttle bus services, ferry links between the Inner Harbour and Wanzai, Macau International Airport flights, and Macau-Hong Kong ferries were progressively restored throughout the afternoon.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao, the local airport recorded 62 canceled and 34 delayed flights between Saturday and yesterday as a result of Noul.

Air Macau confirmed additional cancellations yesterday, including a Macau-Chongqing service, while flight NX855, originally scheduled to arrive from Japan’s Osaka on Saturday, was forced to divert to a military airport in Guangxi’s Nanning, leaving 93 Macau residents stranded. The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) reported that its hotline had handled nine cases of assistance requests or complaints.

Hong Kong’s airport saw about 350 flight cancellations yesterday, with most flights resuming after midday.

Meanwhile, the Macau Customs Service (SA) reported that on Saturday afternoon, while the typhoon signal was in effect, a 14-year-old windsurfing student capsized and fell into the sea near “Ape Man Stone,” prompting a swift rescue operation involving patrol vehicles and a speedboat, which brought the trainee to the Hac Sa Water Sports Centre.

Following a preliminary medical check, the teenager declined hospitalization and was escorted home by family members. Customs used the incident to issue a strong warning to the public against venturing out for water sports during typhoon periods, stressing the serious risks involved.