Update: 09.10.2023
The Hong Kong Observatory raised storm warning Signal 8 on Sunday night, 8 October, shutting down the city as Typhoon Koinu closed in on Hong Kong.
The storm has since weakened to a severe tropical storm, and the observatory has lowered its warning to Signal 1, meaning strong winds can be expected.
According to the latest update from the Hong Kong Observatory, the remnants of the outgoing storm will bring more rain over the coming days.
Kuehne+Nagel advised that all services were suspended from 8 October, 12:40 local time at Hong Kong Modern Terminals and Hong Kong International Terminals. Operations returned to normal on Monday, 9 October.
Port operations mainly remained normal in the Shenzhen and Guangzhou areas.
The Hong Kong Observatory forecasts more rain this week as the storm moves towards Hainan Island, weakening further.
"At 8 p.m., Koinu was centred about 180 kilometres east of Zhanjiang. It is forecast to move southwest at about 14 kilometres per hour towards the vicinity of Hainan Island and dissipate gradually," reported the observatory.
Update: 06.10.2023
Hong Kong will raise its storm warning from Signal 1 to Signal 3 on Friday at 5:40 p.m. as a very strong Typhoon Koinu nears the metropolis, bringing high swells.
While signal 3 is the second lowest storm warning, the Hong Kong Observatory has not ruled out raising the warning further.
"Koinu is expected to edge closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary in the next couple of days. With the circulation of Koinu being relatively small, the need for issuance of higher tropical cyclone warning signals by then will depend on the intensity of Koinu and its distance from Hong Kong"
Hong Kong's port operator Hutchison Ports, announced empty container operations will cease at 10:00 p.m. on 6 October. No further details on port operations were given.
According to Kuehne+Nagel's seaexplorer, six vessels are currently in port, and most are expected to depart later today.
At around 3:00 p.m. local time today, Typhoon Koinu was estimated to be about 280 kilometres east-southeast of Hong Kong and is forecast to move west at about 12 kilometres per hour across the coastal waters of Guangdong.
Over the next two to three days, squally showers are expected, with heavy rains on Sunday and Monday.
This past Wednesday night, Koinu crossed Taiwan's outer Lanyu (Orchid) island as a category four storm The Guardian reported that wind gusts of 342.7 km/h were recorded, the highest gusts ever registered by Taiwan's Central Weather Administration.
Original article: 02.10.2023
This week, the Chinese media circulated news about a new typhoon approaching Hong Kong and the South China Sea. The Hong Kong Observatory upgraded the Koinu storm into typhoon status on 2 October and expects the typhoon to grow stronger in the next few days.
Koinu is forecast to affect the southern part of Taiwan and enter 400 kilometres of Hong Kong on Friday, 6 October.
According to a South China Morning Post report, forecasters also expect a northeast monsoon to reach southern China later in the week.
The Global Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) warned that Typhoon Koinu "can have a high humanitarian impact." It will bring heavy rainfall, strong winds, and storm surges over Taiwan, the northern Philippines, Hong Kong and China.
