China, Macau and Hong Kong battered by Typhoon Hato

Parts of southern China, Hong Kong and Macau are counting the cost of typhoon Hato, the most severe storm to hit the region in half a century. As of last Thursday (24 August), the typhoon had claimed 16 lives and dozens of injuries, forced thousands to be evacuated and caused widespread disruption to businesses and transport. Hong Kong and the surrounding areas were braced for the onslaught of typhoon Hato last week after a Category 10 storm warning was issued, effectively putting the city on lockdown. And as of Monday 28 September, no serious damage had been reported in Hong Kong, other than reports of flooding, smashed windows and fallen trees. The nearby gambling resort of Macau was badly hit though, with ten fatalities, 244 injuries and widespread damage to critical infrastructure, causing a shortage of electricity and water for a number of days. The city’s many casinos also suffered disruption and were forced to activate backup generators as a result of the typhoon and the high winds and severe rain that followed. Clean-up efforts have also been hampered by the arrival of a second tropical storm, Pakhar, which passed by Macau and Hong Kong and made landfall in southern Chinese city of Taishan on Monday morning (28 August). According to the Macau Government Information Bureau, power has been restored in the territory but some areas are still without water. There is also a severe challenge in removing the 2,600 tonnes of debris that collected on the streets. However, it may be difficult to get a true picture of the extent of the damage in Macau and the Chinese mainland after four Hong Kong-based journalists looking to report on the storm damage were denied entry to Macau on Saturday on the grounds that they “posed a risk to the stability of internal security”. The reporting ban was criticised by the Hong Kong Journalists Association, which expressed its “deep regret” over the incident. Meanwhile, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that the Chinese authorities “have called for efforts to guard against geographical disasters and mountain floods”, in anticipation of further severe weather. Typhoon Hato led to the evacuation of villages housing more than 27,000 people in parts of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces and more than 30cm of rain was expected in the following days. So far, eight fatalities were reported and more than two million residents were without power. According to the chief weather forecaster at the Guangdong meteorological bureau, Wu Zhifang, typhoon Hato was particularly damaging because “compared to other typhoons, it moved fast, grew powerful fast and caused massive rainfall”. The estimates of claims faced by insurers will become evident in the weeks to come, although the region is notorious for its relatively low level of insurance adoption – especially for property damage in rural areas. AM Best stated on 25 August that it expects rated non-life insurers to be able to withstand any losses in Macau arising from the typhoon. In addition to property/casualty claims, the insurers might also face some business interruption claims from some of the large businesses in Hong Kong and Macau that were forced to close down temporarily as a result of the typhoon.

China, Macau and Hong Kong battered by Typhoon Hato

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