Hong Kong Disneyland: Popular theme park closes as Typhoon Wipha hits city bringing highest storm alert
Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong is closed today (Sunday 20 July) as the city is being battered by a severe topical cyclone.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a hurricane signal No. 10, its highest warning. The eye of the storm was passing just south of the city around midday with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour, the Observatory said.
The government said over 200 people had headed to public shelters and that it had received dozens of reports of fallen trees. Hong Kong Disneyland and other amusement parks were closed.
The storm, which reached typhoon strength overnight, was headed toward Macao and the neighboring Chinese city of Zhuhai. It was forecast to make landfall late Sunday and continue moving west, reaching Vietnam later this week.
A representative from Hong Kong’s Airport Authority on Sunday said about 500 flights have been cancelled, while 400 others are scheduled to take off or land later in the day. Authorities also suspended Sunday’s classes at all day schools and daycare centres, while trains offered limited services.
Wipha, which in Thai means “splendour”, also passed over the Philippines at tropical storm strength and drenched parts of Taiwan. The typhoon also intensified seasonal monsoon rains in the Philippines, and two people have been reported missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.