Signal No. 3 was hoisted at 8 p.m. yesterday as tropical storm “Nangka” was about 440 kilometres south of Macau as it was heading towards Hainan, and with a north-east monsoon lurking in the South China Sea, the possibility of issuing the Typhoon Signal No. 8 at dawn was “medium to relatively high”, the local weather station forecast late last night.
According to the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), Nangka is predicted to stay at a distance of about 400 kilometres from Macau, and is estimated to move west-northwest at about 22 km/h.
However, under the combined effect of “Nangka” and the north-east monsoon, the winds in Macau are expected to strengthen significantly and be sustained for a period of time, the bureau said in a statement.
The bureau also said that Signal No. 3 meant that under the influence of a tropical cyclone, winds with sustained speed of 41 to 62 km/h are expected, while the gusts may exceed 110 km/h in Macau.
The blue storm surge warning was in effect last night. According to the bureau, flooding might occur in low-lying areas between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. today .The highest flooding level will be below 0.5 metre.
The statement also said that there would be frequent heavy showers and thunderstorms today and tomorrow, and under the combined influence of the storm surge and heavy showers, there could be flooding in the Inner Harbour area this morning, and a top flood level of around 0.4 metres is expected.
