Typhoon season begins, first T-warning issued

Former typhoon signals on display at the Guia Lighthouse museum

The Macau Meteorological and Weather Bureau (SMG) issued its first typhoon warning of the season yesterday in anticipation of a tropical depression in the South China Sea, which is expected to bring heavy downpours to Macau later this week.

The Bureau hoisted the T1 signal at 10:45 a.m. yesterday morning as it tracked the tropical depression’s approach toward Hainan island. It initially said that the chance of the signal being elevated was low, but late last night it updated its website to say that a T3 warning may be raised at some point today.

The T1 signal represents a “standby warning” intended to alert residents to a possible incoming storm and accompanying wind and rain.

As of yesterday evening, the tropical depression was tracking north – after having evaded Hainan – and looked set to make landfall in southwest Guangdong Province.

According to weather monitoring app Windy.tv, the current tropical depression may strengthen later in the week and turn in the direction of the MSAR, passing south of the city on an eastward trajectory, from late Sunday night into the early hours of Monday morning.

The peripheral rain bands of the tropical depression are expected to bring more rain the territory in the coming days.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a similar warning yesterday morning, concurring that the chance of the signal being raised was low. However, an error by the institution meant that the Signal No.1 warning (equivalent to T1) was raised in the HKSAR at 9:25 a.m., two hours earlier than had been scheduled. The Hong Kong Observatory has apologized for the mistake, blaming it on a typographical error.

The SMG has taken a more cautious approach to posting warnings and disseminating information since last year’s Typhoon Hato. Today it prefers to err on the side of caution by issuing warnings for weather events even when they are thought unlikely to manifest into more serious conditions. That was the case for a heavy rain signal issued in the early morning of May 8, which led to the cancelation of classes (in the case of kindergartens and primary school) when the weather conditions were mostly fine.

Typhoon Hato killed 10 people and became one of the most destructive typhoons on Macau’s record when it struck the city on August 23 last year. The scale of the destruction and subsequent public criticism pointed to a lack of competence on the behalf of local weather authorities, who were criticized for issuing warning signals too late to be effective.

In response to the criticism, the Chief Executive forcibly retired the then-SMG chief Fong Soi Kun and opened an investigation into his handling of the extreme weather phenomenon.

The typhoon season for the South China region extends from May to early November, with peak activity usually recorded between July and September, when there is a 50 percent chance or greater of a typhoon each month.

Earlier this year, the Hong Kong Observatory forecasted that the city might see between five to eight typhoons in 2018, a number “considered normal to higher than normal.”

31.5 tons of plants lost during hato

THE CIVIC and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) said that an assessment made by Sun Yat-sen University indicated a total loss of 31.5 tons of plants during Typhoon Hato. According to IACM, in reply to lawmaker Leong Sun Iok’s written inquiry, the total loss of physical resources is estimated at MOP1.06 billion, while the loss of service resources is estimated at MOP607.69 million. Starting from this year, priority will be given to repairing forests within ten meters of both sides of walking trails. The government plans to phase out degraded trees in five to ten years.