Typhoon Talim halts Monday activities but without significant harm

The passage of typhoon Talim through Macau today has halted most of the city’s activities, bringing it to a standstill, but otherwise not much harm was caused by the extreme weather event.

At around noon time, tourists were seen in Leal Senado amid the hoisting of T8.

Up until 7:30 p.m., the Civil Protection Operations Center (COPC) registered a total of 30 incidents in Macau over the longer than 12 hour event of the Signal 8 of typhoon.

Most of these incidents (23) were related to fallen debris or objects, or the need to remove signage boards, awnings, and other objects at risk of falling. It was also necessary to address six situations related to construction scaffolding or machinery, as well as lamp posts and/or trees that fell or were at risk of falling. The additional case reported was also related to construction scaffolding or materials that were at risk, but at a construction site.

According to information provided by the Social Welfare Bureau, there were a total of 12 people who presented at the four emergency shelters opened to support the public. The cases were those of homeless people who did not have a safe place to protect themselves from the severe weather conditions.

Information from the Civil Aviation Authority also noted that there were four flights with delays, 100 canceled, and 36 that have been rescheduled to other times at the Macau International Airport.

In the early hours of the day, there was some flooding in the low-lying areas of the Inner Harbour, which coincided with the high tide, but the water level above the pavement was never over 20 centimeters and did not cause much harm, as the flood subsided quickly.

At 1 p.m. the COPC notified that the weather bureau had canceled the (Blue level) Storm Surge warning that was also into force since the early hours of the day, noting the reduced likelihood of further flood risk situations.

T8 was lowered to T3 at 8 p.m. tonight. Public transportation has also been resumed at 8 p.m.

The Civil Aviation Authority, meanwhile, stated, “as the typhoon is gradually moving away from Macao, Macau International Airport gradually resume the normal operation of flights which were affected.”

Also, two mocha slot machine venues (Kuong Fat and Inner Harbour) that halted operations will resume at 8:30 p.m.