Macao and other cities in the delta are bracing for a double typhoon hit in the coming days, with a tropical cyclone currently intensifying over Luzon and another forming over the western North Pacific, to the east of the Philippines. The latter storm is expected to intensify significantly.
According to Macao’s Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (called SMG after its Portuguese initials), the first cyclone is expected to enter within 800 kilometers of Macao tonight or in the early hours of Thursday.
The SMG says it “will consider issuing the tropical cyclone signal no. 1 at that time” and expects the storm to gradually intensify over the next two days, moving toward the eastern coast of Guangdong.
[See more: The Ultimate Macao Typhoon Survival Guide]
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Observatory warns that the second storm will enter the northern part of the South China Sea early next week and edge closer to the coast of southern China, with the weather deteriorating “significantly” over the region in the middle of next week.
Storm surge is also expected to be “quite significant” by then, meteorologists say, with flooding over coastal areas.
Macao was last affected by a typhoon earlier this month, when Tropical Cyclone Tapah became the ninth typhoon to impact the SAR so far this year – the first time since 1993 that the city has been affected by nine tropical cyclones in a single year.
