SUPERTYPHOON!!

If you've been watching the news recently you may have heard about Supertyphoon Megi. It's a category 5 Supertyphoon that has just passed over the Philippines. It's not yet clear how bad the damage has been in the Philippines, but what we do know is that it's forecast to turn towards Hong Kong and reach land on Saturday.

These tracks show all the different forecasts. This Typhoon is the same strength as Hurricane Katrina was when it hit New Orleans, and we have been told to expect wind speeds not less that 155knots and torrential rain. 







This image shows the size of the typhoon, we are expecting that first rain band to hit us tomorrow. Also you can see the typhoon has a central eye.


It is likely that if we get a direct hit there will be extensive damage to buildings and anything outside. We have been told we may be without water or electricity for up to a week. Outward Bound expects to lose all of it's boats in the event of a direct hit, including The Spirit. 


At the moment however there is still no Typhoon warning in Hong Kong. The Typhoon warning system only starts when a Typhoon is within a certain distance from the city. Once it's out there will no doubt be general panic amongst the population. Everything in Hong Kong will shut and the city will ground to a halt. 


I think there is already a bit of a mounting tension, certainly amongst the staff here at OBHK. Hong Kong hasn't had a direct hit for a number of years, and not of this strength for many decades. Everyone here knows what happened in New Orleans. Hong Kong should not flood like New Orleans but the strength of wind and the size of the storm surge could be as big if not bigger. 


When it does reach land it will probably be on the news in the UK. I'll also put up a post later in the week once we know where it's going. If it does hit, just be aware I may not have any form of communication for a while.


Of course forecasts aren't always accurate, so it might just die away or miss us completely.