Parts of Taipa and Coloane have been hit with severe flooding due to heavy rainfall, which the local weather bureau says reached as high as 110 millimetres in some areas over a one hour period.
Currently, a black rainstorm and thunderstorm signal have been hoisted, with the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials SMG) stating that “the heavy rain will persist for some time.”
Some of the roads around Taipa have already been sealed off due to heavy flooding, including Wai Long Avenue, Porto Street, Chio Chau street, Fernão Mendes Pinto street and Ouvidor Arraga roundabout.
In Coloane, some of the roads that have been blocked off include Avenida de Cinco de Outubro and Estrada do Alto de Coloane. The underground public parking lot in Praça Ferreira do Amaral has suspended operations as well.
Online footage shared on social media shows sections of Taipa Village, Rotunda do Istmo (Cotai Roundabout), Caminho das Hortas, Avenida do Progresso and Taipa Grande being inundated with water.
Residents have been advised to stay indoors under the present weather conditions, which have resulted in low-lying areas being hit with severe flooding.
The heavy rainfall is due to the impact of Tropical Cyclone Podul, which is currently listed as a typhoon signal no. 1 and was located roughly 290 kilometres from Macao as of 2 pm. All tropical cyclone signals will be cancelled at 6 pm today.
Podul is projected to move away from Macao, although its impact will still be felt today and early tomorrow, with the SMG forecasting frequent heavy showers, thunderstorms and strong gusts.
[See more: The Ultimate Macao Typhoon Survival Guide]
Flights have also been impacted, with Macao’s airport announcing the cancellation of 16 flights between Macao, Taiwan and Fujian province yesterday. Affected carriers include Air Macau, Eva Airways, TigerAir Taiwan, Starlux Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.
The typhoon approached Southern Taiwan yesterday, resulting in the evacuation of 5,500 people and the grounding of 252 domestic flights and 155 international ones.
Neighbouring Hong Kong has similarly been affected, with the South China Morning Post reporting on Tuesday the cancellation or postponement of at least 15 Hong Kong-Taiwan flights.
The news outlet also reported that two HK Express flights headed for Taipei had to divert back to Hong Kong yesterday as a result of the poor weather conditions.
Tropical cyclones are common in Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan during the annual typhoon season, which typically runs between July and September. The SMG expects the Macao to be hit with 5 to 8 typhoons this year, a figure that it deems to be “normal to relatively high.”
Some of the typhoons that have hit Macao so far this year include Wutip, which reached signal 3 in June, and Wipha, which hit signal 10 in July, marking the earliest time in the year a signal of this type has been raised since the start of records in 1968.
