The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) insisted in a statement yesterday that although the distance of Typhoon “Matmo” remained at around 300 kilometres south of Macau when it was moving towards the areas between the western coast of Guangdong Province and Hainan Province yesterday, there Tropical Cyclone Signal No.8 (T8) needed to be hoisted as Matmo’s storm zone was large enough to include Macau, which could then be expected to be affected by a storm at a level that activated the bureau’s issuing of T8.
The local observatory hoisted Standby Signal No.1 (T1) at 11 p.m. on Friday when Matmo came within 800 kilometres from Macau. The bureau raised Strong Wind Signal No.3 (T3) at 4 p.m. on Saturday and replaced it with T8 at 2 a.m. yesterday.
When Matmo was moving away from Macau, the signal was lowered to T3 at 1 p.m. yesterday. All storm warning signals were removed at 9 p.m. last night.
When concluding the local government’s civil protection work tackling the potentially adverse impact of Matmo, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak underlined yesterday that despite the typhoon’s distance from Macau remaining at around 300 kilometres en route to where it was to make landfall, its potential impact on Macau, based on the local observatory’s assessments at that time, “could not be underestimated”, according to a statement by the Unitary Police Service (SPU) yesterday, the duties of which include overseeing and coordinating the city’s civil protection work.
Matmo finally made landfall in Xuwen County of Zhanjiang City in Guangdong Province, i.e., the southern end of the Leizhou Peninsula, yesterday afternoon.
According to the SPU statement, the Civil Protection Operations Centre reported a total of 16 incidents brought about by Matmo, comprising 10 cases of removing objects at risk of falling, three cases of collapsed scaffolding or other objects on construction sites, and three cases of fallen trees.
The statement also said that Matmo resulted in one minor injury, but it did not reveal the patient’s gender and kind of injury.
The SPU statement said that the government opened four of its emergency centres when T8 was in force, during which a total of nine people sought shelter there.
Yesterday’s SMG statement also said that Typhoon Matmo was the 12th tropical cyclone to affect Macau this year, adding that 12 tropical cyclones affected Macau also in 1974, the highest number on record.
Depending on its location and strength, Macau’s observatory classifies a tropical cyclone into tropical depression, tropical storm, severe tropical storm, typhoon, severe typhoon, and super typhoon.
The statement also said that Matmo caused the local observatory to issue the fourth T8 this year, adding that had previously Macau hoisted four T8s a year only in 1993, 2008, and 2022.
Before hoisting T8 at 2 a.m. yesterday, the observatory said on its website that Macau was expected to be “on the periphery” of Matmo’s strongest wind zone (Force 8 or above). On the Beaufort Scale, Force 8 indicates a wind speed of 34 to 40 knots (63 to 74 km/h) that can cause some structural damage, potentially affecting the operation of small boats and outdoor activities.
Combined with the probability of Matmo intensifying into a severe typhoon en route to where it was to make landfall, the local observatory decided at that time to hoist T8.
Meanwhile, the peninsula-Taipa Macau Bridge opened yesterday to traffic for cars and authorised vehicles for the first time when T8 was in force, during which the vehicles using the bridge were required to follow rules such as only travelling in the middle lane and at a maximum speed of 60 kilometres per hour.
In normal circumstances, the bridge’s speed limit is 80 kilometres per hour.
Public broadcaster TDM reported yesterday that some drivers using the bridge, when T8 was in force, failed to comply with the rules, such as not travelling in the middle lane, or overtaking other cars.
The Post released three in-depth news articles about Matmo on its website on Saturday and yesterday providing not only real-time but also background information on the tropical cyclone.
Two firefighters yesterday remove fallen trees in Areia Preta district after Typhoon Matmo. – Photo: SPU
