Hong Kong, China—Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said on Monday it expected to cancel more than 500 flights as Super Typhoon Ragasa (known in the Philippines as ‘Nando’) was forecast to hit the Chinese financial hub.
“Starting at 6:00 pm tomorrow, September 23, Cathay Pacific’s passenger flights arriving at and departing from Hong Kong International Airport will cease operations until resuming during daytime hours on Thursday,” a spokeswoman for the airline said at a Monday press conference.
“More than 500 flights are currently expected to be cancelled.”
Ragasa (Nando) is crossing the Luzon Strait between southern Taiwan and northern Philippines, and is expected to hit Hong Kong and southern China on Tuesday.
As of 2:00 p.m., maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour were reported at the storm’s center, with gusts reaching as high as 295 kph, the Philippines’ national weather service said.
The Hong Kong Observatory forecast the city will see “gale to storm force winds” on Wednesday.
“The weather will be adverse with frequent heavy squally showers and significant storm surge,” the weather bureau added.
Officials said they planned to stack sandbags and install flood barriers for some coastal villages in the city.
The Education Bureau announced Monday that all schools will be suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The city’s hospital authority said public hospitals have implemented special measures to ensure emergency services are not affected during the storm.
