In response to Tropical Storm Mulan, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) issued Tropical Storm Signal No.8 at 7 a.m. for six hours yesterday, during which a 10-minute mean wind speed was recorded at Ponte da Amizade (“Friendship Bridge”) at the lower limit of the signal, indicating a “weak” No.8 condition, according to an SMG statement.
As Mulan made landfall in Zhanjiang city in Guangdong province at around 11 a.m. yesterday and gradually moved away from Macau, the bureau issued Strong Wind Signal No.3 to replace Tropical Storm Signal No.8 at 1 p.m. yesterday, the statement noted.
The statement noted that Mulan was a tropical cyclone that developed from a monsoon low, adding that although its intensity had strengthened, its structure was “relatively loose” and maintained the characteristics of a monsoon low.
According to the statement, Mulan’s wind power distribution was different to tropical cyclones in general, in which the wind in the centre is weak and the maximum wind power is located in its periphery. The statement pointed out that the Pearl River estuary was located on the northeastern side of Mulan’s periphery with a wind level scale of 7-8.
The statement underlined that as of noon yesterday, accumulative precipitation of more than 30 millimetres had been recorded in Macau. It added that as Mulan’s structure was loose, accompanied by scattered rainbands, the rain early yesterday morning was more frequent but weakened during the daytime with sunny intervals.
The weather station issued a Yellow Storm Surge Warning Signal at 6 p.m. on Tuesday due to the combined impacts brought by the expected storm surge and heavy rain during the recent astronomical high tide, the statement said, adding that flooding at a height of 0.5-0.6 metre had been expected to occur in the Inner Harbour area.
However, as there was no overlap of the storm surge with the astronomical tide, the flooding was not significant, and a flood level of only up to 0.15 metres occurred in the southern part of the Inner Harbour between morning and noon yesterday, according to the statement.
Moreover, the observatory forecast slight flooding in the Inner Harbour area from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. today. Unsettled cloudy weather is expected today with showers, heavy at first, and a few thunderstorms.
The observatory cancelled all storm warning signals at 12:30 a.m. today.
Mulan spares Macau
Meanwhile, according to a statement by the Civil Protection Operations Centre (COPC) yesterday, no major damage or major injuries were reported during the storm.
The statement noted that only two incidents – collapsed scaffolding and hanging objects becoming loose – were recorded during the period when Signal No.8 was up.
According to the statement, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) opened four emergency centres during the storm, but only four people sought shelter there.
The statement said that the observatory lowered all storm surge warning signals at 10 a.m. yesterday.
This photo shows an LED panel on Rua do Almirante Sérgio displaying yesterday’s temperature, relative humidity and the Strong Wind Signal No.3. Photo: Yuki Lei
