BEIJING – Typhoon Haima churned toward southern China on Friday after smashing into the northern Philippines with ferocious wind and rain, triggering flooding, landslides and power outages and killing seven people.
Hong Kong hunkered down as Haima lashed the financial hub with rain and wind gusts of up to 96 kilometres an hour. Nearly 700 flights to and from the city’s international airport were cancelled or delayed.
China suspended rail services in several provinces on the mainland’s south, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall in the afternoon. In the city of Shenzhen, authorities ordered schools, markets and factories to close, halted public transportation and evacuated some areas.
In the Philippines, Haima’s blinding winds and rain had rekindled fears of the catastrophe wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which left 7,300 dead, but there were no immediate reports of any major damage. Large casualties appeared to have been averted after nearly 100,000 people fled to safer ground. Several villages were cut off by fallen trees, landslides and floods, impeding communications and aid.
On a lighter note, images of the ‘Starbucks uncle’ have gone viral as one man continues his daily routine of drinking coffee, undeterred by floodwaters. Several memes have also popped up.
Hong Kong 'Starbucks uncle' becomes viral hero for sipping coffee in a flooded cafe https://t.co/zKqZSHLiv8
— DidYouKnow (@DYK_it) October 21, 2016
As chaos reigns in LegCo and on Hong Kong's streets, we can all be inspired by the resilience of Starbucks Uncle: https://t.co/syqZiZ2bwm pic.twitter.com/q52qs9ytll
— Tom Grundy (@tomgrundy) October 19, 2016
