HONG KONG: Strong winds and heavy rain hit Hong Kong today as a typhoon headed to the south of the financial hub, disrupting business and closing the stock market for at least part of the morning.
The Hong Kong Observatory raised the No. 8 signal, on a scale of 1 to 10, on Monday and said it expected to lower it between 10 am (0200 GMT) and noon as Typhoon Kalmaegi moves away from the city and heads for the Chinese island of Hainan.
Schools, businesses and non-essential government services will stay closed while storm the signal 8 remains hoisted.
Flights in and out of Hong Kong were delayed, affecting thousands of passengers, with the impact expected to last well into Tuesday morning.
At 8am, Typhoon Kalmaegi was centred about 400 kilometres southwest of Hong Kong and was forecast to move west-northwest at about 30 kph (19 mph). --REUTERS