The observatory said it will have to assess on Friday evening whether to issue Hong Kong’s first T9 signal for more than three years, as Super Typhoon Saola slowly draws closer to the territory.

The storm is projected to be passing ominously close, and the forecaster says it will likely come within 100 kilometres south of the SAR.

Despite the city seeing relatively light winds on Friday morning, the observatory warned that this is due to the ‘compact circulation’ of Soala, and the storm is still packing winds in excess of 200 kilometres per hour near its centre.

It noted that hurricane force winds have already been recorded in the vicinity of Shanwei – which is around 150 kilometres east of the territory and is closer to the eye of the storm – and conditions here will ‘deteriorate rapidly’ later in the day.

“Depending on changes in local winds, the Observatory will assess the need to issue higher tropical cyclone warning signals around this evening,” it said.

It also renewed a warning about potentially serious flooding in low-lying coastal areas.

“There may be serious flooding. It is expected to affect the eastern coastal areas of Hong Kong tonight, especially Sai Kung, Shing Mun River, Tai Po, Sha Tau Kok etc. The maximum water level may be similar to that when Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in 2018”, it warned

Mangkhut, which struck five years ago, caused widespread damage and marked the last time Hong Kong had to issue its No 10 hurricane signal. Typhoon Higos prompted the issuance of the T9 signal in August 2020.