SMG won’t rule out Signal 8 for Sunday storm

The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) has warned that it is not ruling out the possibility of hoisting Signal 8 on Sunday in response to a tropical depression that is approaching Macau.
The storm, which has been officially named PAKHAR (1417), will be the second to affect Macau this week. It is expected to pass south of the MSAR around midday on Sunday and make landfall between Macau and Zhanjiang later that same day.
In a written note to the Times, the SMG advised that it will raise Signal 1 tomorrow (Saturday) and that there is a 60 to 80 percent chance that Signal 3 will be raised later.
The bureau noted that, “with the current forecast, the possibility of raising the tropical storm Signal 8 is still low.”
At a press conference held by the SMG today, representatives of the bureau put the chance of a Signal 8 being hoisted at 20 to 40 percent. They said that the approach of the tropical depression threatened to cause light flooding in the low zones of the city on Sunday.
“Due to the uncertainty of the trajectory and strength of the tropical storm, it is not ruled out the possibility of raising the Signal 8, if [PAKHAR (1417)] is further diverted closer to Macau,” the bureau warned. “In this case, the floods can turn out to be more serious.”
PAKHAR (1417) is currently located east of the Philippines. According to the path currently forecasted, the tropical depression is expected to cross the northern Philippine island of Luzon tomorrow and cross into the South China Sea. From there, it will move northwest and then west, taking it to the coastal zone of Guangdong Province.
The SMG advised Macau locals to take all necessary precautionary measures and keep monitoring official sources of weather-related information.
The Hong Kong Observatory posted on its website today that it is considering issuing the “Standby Signal 1” tomorrow (Saturday). It advised Hong Kong residents to take precautions including the clearing of storm water drains to avoid flooding.
Former SMG chief Fong Soi Kun resigned from his post on Thursday evening in the face of heavy criticism over his handling of Typhoon Hato, the deadliest storm to strike Macau in recorded history.
As of 4 p.m. today, at least 10 people have been confirmed dead and about 250 reported injured. Although authorities said that there are no confirmed missing persons, as many as 30 are reported to be trapped in parking lots.

With additional reporting by Julie Zhu