Typhoon Nida Alert: Stay safe, Emiratis in China advised; 150 flights cancelled

Update: Hordes of angry passengers stranded after Typhoon Nida pummelled Hong Kong crowded the airport on Tuesday, desperately seeking flights as the city emerges from lockdown while the storm swept across southern China.

An airport authority spokesman told AFP only 500 flights would run between 6am and midnight local time on Tuesday (2200 GMT on Monday to 1600 GMT). On a normal day, the airport would handle 1,100 flights.

Gusts of 151 kilometres (93 miles) per hour whipped the city and rain lashed down during the night, leaving three people injured and a trail of fallen trees and torn-down scaffolding.

Typhoon Nida swept through Hong Kong on Tuesday, shutting down most of the financial hub with gale-force winds and disrupting hundreds of flights, while low-lying areas were put on flood alert.

Hong Kong's first major typhoon this year brought gusts of more than 100 km per hour (62 miles per hour) and prompted the observatory to issue an amber warning, signifying heavy rain, at 5.20 am Hong Kong time (2120 GMT).

More than 150 flights were cancelled, the Airport Authority said, with Cathay Pacific and Dragonair warning none of their flights would be operating until 2 pm (0600 GMT) at the earliest. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the airport and around 325 flights are expected to be rescheduled.

The UAE Consulate in Guangzhou city in the People's Republic of China has advised UAE citizens there to exercise caution and vigilance  as the southern Chinese city is bracing for Typhoon Nida.
 
The Consulate asked the citizens through the Tawajdi service to stay in safe places and communicate with it in case of emergency via telephone on 00861881394939.

Rescue workers attempt to secure bamboo scaffolding that was damaged overnight at the top of a building in Hong Kong, during a "T8" storm signal raised for Typhoon Nida. (AFP)
 
China issues red alert for
 
China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) issued the a red alert for ocean waves and storm tides as Typhoon Nida approaches the mainland.
 
From Monday night to Tuesday, sea waves as high as 11 metres are expected in the northern South China Sea, while the southern Taiwan Strait will witness waves as high as seven metres, state-run news agency, Xinhua, said.

 
The SOA also issued a red alert storm tides and estimated that the sea level off the Pearl River estuary will rise up to 220cm.
 
Typhoon Nida is expected to land in Guangdong Province early on Tuesday, probably around the Pearl River Delta.

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