Typhoon Hato wreaks havoc across Hong Kong, Macau

Tuesday 22nd of August 2017

Hong Kong and Macau have been battered by one of the most destructive typhoons in years, forcing schools, public services and transport to halt services.

According to local media, Typhoon Signal 10 was first raised in Macau at 12:30am. Since, then three people have died and two are missing as a result of Typhoon Hato. There have been reports of 34 people injured in Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, more than 450 flights were cancelled, and financial markets have suspended trading for the day, according to a report from Reuters.

Power and telecommunications have been out across Macau, with some power restored at around 3pm in the afternoon.

Damage was also done to both ferry terminals in Macau - which Union Gaming analysts say could delay the resumption of ferry service.

“The typhoon resulted in significant damage across all parts of Macau and most outdoor spaces in Macau (casinos or otherwise) will require extensive cleanup over the coming days, while we would expect many roads to be closed as trees and debris are removed.”
It is understood that some casinos closed during the storm - but most in flagship resorts were still operating, albeit on a diminished capacity.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau also issued a statement urging casinos in parts of the city affected by the power outage to cease gaming operations for the safety of their patrons.

Should power not be restored to those areas, Union Gaming says it expects gaming operations to cease across multiple casinos in the evening hours.

It is also understood that a number of luxury hotels have stopped checking in guests and will not take any reservations until further notice as they had run out of backup power.

A staff member of the Wynn Macau Hotel told SCMP that he was not sure when electricity would be resumed, but have allowed their guests to continue to stay in their rooms.

“All our systems broke down. We do not have electricity and water. We won’t hurry our guests to check out even though some of them may have passed the check-out hours. They should stay with us and stay safe as the weather is really bad,” he said.

A front desk employee from Galaxy Macau hotel said they will not be able to check in guests who had reserved rooms for Wednesday and Thursday, as they have advised guests to stay in their rooms.

“We will make further arrangements when the situation gets better,” she said to SCMP.

The storm was downgraded to a category eight by mid afternoon.

Bricks & Mortar Undefined