Typhoon York (21W)

Direct Hit on Hong Kong 16/9/1999

(12-17 September 1999)

Unless York re-generates, this will be the last update of the above animation.
Animation of the earlier (Warnings #1 to #9) development of TC York is found here.

HKO: York Page Detailed Report Track over HK Track of York

In HK, Stand-by Signal No 1 was hoisted at 10:45 on Monday 13th September 1999.
Tropical Cyclone Signal No3 was hoisted at 10:15 on Wednesday 15th September. 
Tropical Cyclone Signal No 8 (North West Storm or Gale) was hoisted at 03:15 on Thursday 16th September 1999.
Tropical Cyclone Signal No 9 was hoisted at 05:20 on Thursday 16th September 1999.
Tropical Cyclone Signal No 10 (Hurricane Force Winds) was hoisted at 06:45 on Thursday 16th September 1999.
Tropical Cyclone Signal No 8 (South West Gales) was hoisted at 17:45 on Thursday 16th September 1999. Landslip Warning Issued at 06:10. Red Rainstorm Warning Issued. Flooding in New Territories Announcement Issued.  Hurricane Signal 10 had been up for the longest time ever on record from 06:45 until 17:45.
Tropical Cyclone Signal No 3 (Strong Winds) was hoisted at 22:10 on Thursday 16th September 1999.
All Tropical Cyclone Signals were lowered at 00:45 on Friday 17th September 1999.

As at 18:00 on 16/9/99, More than 500 people were in emergency shelters, one man had been killed when hit by flying debris at Tsueng Kwan O, 200+ reported injuries, 40 major roads closed by landslides or debris.  All public transport on land and sea had been stopped all day except for the underground portions of the MTR Island Line, Kwun Tong Line and Tsuen Wan Line which were operating at 15 minute headways.  The Ting Kau and Tsing Ma bridges were both closed.

On Friday 17th, all ESF schools remained closed and the Norwegian school was closed.   As many roads are still closed or are opened with restricted access, you should check with individual schools as to whether they are operating or not.

To give readers a feel for Hong Kong in the wake of Typhoon York, I have extracted the following paragraphs from SCMP 18/9/99: As work began on moving more than 4,300 uprooted trees, 6,000 New Territories residents remained without power and 20 schools were closed, affecting 20,000 students.
Fears also mounted for surfer Liu Chun-ho, 22, still missing and feared dead after an air and sea search found his surfboard yesterday, 24 hours after he was swept away in high seas off Cheung Chau.
Initial estimates put the total bill at tens of billions of dollars.
CLP Power said that by 10pm, 1,700 homes were still without electricity while supplies had been restored to 12,300. The company hoped repairs would be finished today.
Nine people died in Guangdong province and at least six were killed in neighbouring Fujian, where 1,000 houses were destroyed by Typhoon York. Zhuhai suffered widespread flooding.
Initial checks at three towers in Wan Chai found 429 windows - mostly from Revenue Tower and Immigration Tower - were damaged. Some were also damaged at the District Court.
Chek Lap Kok struggled to cope with the chaos left by Typhoon York yesterday with 200 extra flights needed to clear the massive backlog of passengers.
The storm had forced the cancellation of 468 flights and grounded many planes for 24 hours, but the Airport Authority insisted order had been restored by 3pm yesterday.
For a day or so the full stories may be found at http://www.scmp.com
Note: Above reports extracted from SCMP 18/9/99 Published in the South China Morning Post. Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved.

Assuming the missing windsurfer has died it seems the total death toll in Hong Kong from typhoon York is three.

Last update on 07/02/08 at 11:31:30 HKT. [No 21.]

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12/9/99

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