HAIKOU • Typhoon Kompasu - the 18th typhoon of this year - made landfall in south China's island province of Hainan yesterday afternoon.
The typhoon landed on the coast of Boao Township in the city of Qionghai at 3.30pm, packing winds of up to 118.8kmh, according to the Hainan meteorological service.
Earlier in the day, Hong Kong suspended schools and the city's US$6.3 trillion (S$8.5 trillion) stock market cancelled trading as strong winds and rain from Kompasu lashed the financial hub.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing cancelled securities trading, including the Hong Kong-China stock connect and derivatives markets, for the whole day after Kompasu halted after-hours trading the day before.
The city raised the storm warning alert to No. 8 - the third-highest on its scale - from No. 3 on Tuesday afternoon.
In Laos, the weather bureau has warned people living in valleys at the bottom of hills and alongside rivers to be alert to the possibility of landslides, flooding and strong winds from Kompasu. According to a report issued on Tuesday by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Kompasu is expected to pass over southern and central Laos in the coming days.
It will first pass through Vietnam's central coastal areas from today into tomorrow, then weaken to a cyclone and move across central Laos, causing moderate to heavy rain in southern and central areas.
Many parts of central and southern Laos have already suffered floods after days of heavy rain unleashed by a tropical depression, with southern Saravan province being the hardest hit.
Other provinces in southern Laos - Champassak, Xekong, Savannakhet, Khammuan and Attapeu - have also suffered varying degrees of flooding, and thousands of people have seen their crops and property damaged.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the death toll from Kompasu has risen to 13 and nine people are missing, said the government yesterday. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said most victims died during landslides and flooding in the northern Philippine regions and Palawan, an archipelagic province located off Luzon island.
Damage to agriculture there was estimated at US$9.7 million.
XINHUA, BLOOMBERG
