The government said yesterday that it did not rule out the possibility that Super Typhoon Mangkhut that is making its way to the city would have an impact on Macau as large as last year’s deadly Super Typhoon Hato.
Tang Iu Man, acting vice-director of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), gave the warning during a specially-convened meeting yesterday, attended by officials from various government entities, in preparation for Tropical Storm Barijat and Super Typhoon Mangkhut.
In response to Mangkhut that is expected to hit Macau in a few days time, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak, under the instructions of Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, convened a special meeting yesterday attended by representatives of all the 29 government entities and private organisations under the government’s civil protection structure.
The meeting took place at the Civil Protection Operations Centre – which is located in the Immigration Department Building in Pac On in Taipa.
Tropical Storm Barijat was moving away from Macau last night and heading towards the Leizhou Peninsula – the peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong that is north of Hainan province.
During the meeting, Tang said that Mangkhut have been moving on a westward trajectory over the last several days and was expected to cross the Bashi Channel between the Philippines and Taiwan. Tang said that Mangkhut was forecast to enter the South China Sea on Saturday based on its current trajectory before making landfall on the coast of Guangdong.
Tang said that Mangkhut is expected to enter the South China Sea as a strong typhoon or super typhoon, adding that the wind speed at the centre of Mangkhut currently exceeded 200 kilometres per hour.
Tang noted that there are still three or four days before Mangkhut is expected to make landfall on the coast of Guangdong, adding that the forecast error could be about 200 kilometres over the three or four days.
Tang said that if Mangkhut was to make landfall east of the Pearl River estuary, it would not a have a large impact on Macau.
Tang warned that if Mangkhut was to make landfall west of the Pearl River estuary, it would have a very large impact on Macau. Tang said that if this situation was to occur, his bureau did not rule out the possibility that Mangkhut would cause damage to Macau as serious as last year’s Super Typhoon Hato.
Empty shelves that have been divested of bottles of water in a supermarket in Taipa last night. People packed supermarkets to buy bottled water and food as Super Typhoon Mangkhut moves towards Macau over the weekend. Photo: Monica Leong
Tang Iu Man (second from left), acting vice-director of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), speaks during yesterday’s specially-convened civil protection meeting in preparation for Super Typhoon Mangkhut, as other officials under the government’s civil protection structure look on, at the Civil Protection Operations Centre in the Immigration Department Building in Pac On in Taipa. Photo: Unitary Police Service (SPU)
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