Typhoon Hato battered the city last Wednesday and caused severe flooding that left piles of rubbish in the streets, shattered countless windows, damaged numerous cars and uprooted and damaged over 20,000 trees.
The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) said in a statement yesterday that due to the monster typhoon at least 10,000 trees have been uprooted, about 4,000 have been severely damaged and about 9,500 have sustained moderate damage.
According to the statement, initial estimates show that at least 20 trees that were over 100 years old were uprooted in public areas.
The statement said that IACM officials have cleaned up 70 percent of the city’s streets and public parks of trees felled by the killer typhoon and broken branches weighing 15,000 tonnes.
Local environmental activists have expressed concern that the typhoon-induced decrease in the number of trees could push up air pollution until a new generation of trees has grown.
Trees damaged by Typhoon Hato are seen in Taipa yesterday. Photo: Monica Leong
