Typhoon Wipha nears Hong Kong, hundreds of flights cancelled, schools closed

The Hong Kong Observatory raised the T3 storm signal as Tropical Cyclone Wipha closed in on China's southern coast. Photo / Getty Images

Hong Kong issued its third-highest tropical cyclone warning in the early hours of Sunday (local time) as Typhoon Wipha drew nearer, with authorities cancelling classes and grounding hundreds of flights.

Wipha was located around 280km southeast of Hong Kong as of midnight (4am NZT), according to Hong Kong’s weather observatory.

The observatory has hoisted the T8 warning signal, meaning that “winds with mean speeds of 63 kilometres per hour or more are expected”.

The storm was expected to keep intensifying, moving across the northern part of the South China Sea and edging closer to the coast of China’s Guangdong province.

“There will be frequent, heavy, squally showers and thunderstorms over the region. Seas will be high with swells,” the observatory added.

China’s Hainan and Guangdong provinces were also put on high alert, state news agency Xinhua reported.

More than 250 flights servicing Hong Kong had been cancelled as of late Saturday (local time), according to the website of the city’s international airport.

Hong Kong’s Airport Authority asked travellers to prepare for “significant flight cancellations or delays” and said that no passenger flights are expected to depart the city before Sunday noon (local time).

Authorities suspended classes at all day schools and daycare centres.

Bus services are expected to be halted until midday Sunday (local time).

Wipha brought heavy rains and flooding to the Philippines and two people have been reported missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

– Agence France-Presse