The probability of the No. 3 signal being hoisted this morning is high as tropical storm Barijat moves nearer to Macau, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) said in a statement last night, and that the probability of a No. 8 typhoon signal is medium.
The weather station hoisted the No. 1 signal at 11 a.m. yesterday and as of 11 p.m. last night, Barijat was located 400 kilometres east-southeast of Macau and was forecast to move west at around 15km/h.
The SMG statement said that Barijat would strengthen today, moving quite quickly westward across the northern part of the South China Sea, heading towards the Leizhou peninsula, the southernmost tip of Guangdong province.
The statement said that Barijat would be closest to Macau in the evening, and forecast strong winds and heavy rain with thunderstorms.
In addition, the storm surge warning was still effective, and that there could be some flooding caused by the storm tonight and early tomorrow morning, urging the public to take precautions.
The statement also pointed out that Super Typhoon Mangkhut would continue to move towards the west, and would impact the South China coast.
“Since there is still some distance between Mangkhut and Macau, there is still a big uncertainty on its impact on Macau,” the statement said, urging residents to first pay attention to the effects of Barijat on the city.
The name “Barijat” was contributed by the US and is Marshallese for coastal areas impacted by waves/winds, while “Mangkhut” contributed by Thailand means the fruit mangosteen.
