Sixteen people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of Typhoon Hato, which struck Hong Kong, Macau and South China on Wednesday, The Telegraph reported.
As of yesterday evening, there were three confirmed deaths in Macau: a 45-year-old mainland Chinese tourist who was killed in a hit-and-run, a 30-year-old man hit by a falling wall and a 62-year-old man who fell to his death from an apartment building.
It has since been reported that a man (48) and woman (45) drowned after being caught in a flooded car park. Three others have also died in Macau, bringing the total toll in the city to eight.
As of 6pm yesterday, 153 injured people were also sent to two of Macau’s hospitals, although none were in critical condition, according to South China Morning Post.
A Macau government official stated that Hato was the most powerful storm Macau had seen in 53 years, and the city is still in the process of restoring electricity and water sources.
In Guangdong, at least four eight individuals have died, including two in Zhongshan and two in Zhuhai.
In Zhongshan, a man was crushed by a vehicle as he attempted to stop it from overturning, and a woman riding her bike was killed by a falling tree, according to CCTV.
One of the two people that died in Zhuhai was reported to have drowned inside a flooded garage, according to SCMP. Powerful winds in the area also damaged 20 square kilometers of farmland and caused 275 houses to collapse, with estimates placing the total loss at RMB5.5 million.
Hato started as a mid-level tropical storm but developed rapidly into a typhoon, crossing the paths of over 60 million people in South China.
In Hong Kong, winds of up to 77 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 127 kilometers per hour were recorded on Lantau Island, home to the city’s airport, leaving about 480 Wednesday flights canceled.
100 Hong Kong residents were hospitalized and the city received nearly 700 reports of fallen trees.
Both Hong Kong and Macau issued No. 10 signals, the highest in their storm warning system. It was the first typhoon to warrant a No. 10 response for Macau in 18 years and the first in five years for Hong Kong.
In Guangdong, a red warning – the mainland's highest level of storm alert – was issued in Shenzhen and Guangzhou's Nansha District. Orange, yellow and blue warnings were issued for the rest of Guangzhou.
READ MORE: Insane Videos of Typhoon Hato Making Landfall in China
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