After first leaving at least 54 people dead and 49 people missing in the Philippines, Typhoon Mangkhut continued to cause destruction in Hong Kong and parts of the southern coast of China on Sunday.
Facing one of the most powerful storms on record to hit Hong Kong, the city may have managed to avoid serious casualties but still endured extensive damage that could take days to recover from.
Mangkhut triggered the No. 8 signal at 1:10 a.m. as a super typhoon in Hong Kong. It reportedly weakened slightly into a severe typhoon six hours later and then raised to the highest level at 9:40 a.m. as it generated wind speeds of 175km/h (108mph).
Hong Kong residents were forced to stay indoors the entire day as the city was shut down with under a No. 10 warning signal, according to South China Morning Post.
Videos of the widespread destruction caused by the typhoon’s 250 km/h (155 mph) winds in Hong Kong and mainland China soon surfaced on local social media.
Twitter users posted footage of the heavy rains and powerful winds shredding trees and toppling structures.
High-rise buildings can be seen swaying, with windows breaking and scaffolding flying off skyscrapers, while roads were blocked by severe flooding and fallen trees.
Throughout the day, emergency responders from the rescue 999 hotline were swamped with calls by the affected residents. Rescuers responded to residents of over two dozen neighborhoods in low-lying coastal areas which were left in waist-deep flooding.
In Hong Kong, over 200 people were brought to the hospital for treatment, while 17 were reportedly injured in neighboring Macau.
As roads and tunnels were left clogged with debris by Monday, a massive cleanup was started in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the backlog of 889 canceled flights may take a couple of days to clear up, according to the Airport Authority.
