Typhoon Mangkhut battered Hong Kong on Sunday after ravaging the northern part of the Philippines. Authorities in Hong Kong have already placed the city under lockdown and raised the storm alert to its highest.
According to reports, the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) raised the storm signal to T10.
Residents in the city braced themselves for pounding rains and the strong force of battering winds which will likely cause flooding in some parts.
The storm, dubbed the strongest of 2018, packs sustained winds circulating at a speed of 287 km per hour.
According to Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), just the Category 1 of the typhoon, which has a wind speed of 120 km per hour, will affect 3.7 million people.
But is there any way to see the power of the winds?
A Twitter user called Heatheria, who goes by the handle @zteit01, shared a video which shows the strength of the powerful gusts of winds typhoon Mangkhut packs within itself.
Taken from behind the safety of the sturdy glass of the building, the video shows a table – comparable to the size of a large study table – floating outside a high-rise building in midair, tossed around by strong winds.
You can take a look at it below.
#TyphoonMangkhut at hongkong now, a floating table oustside the windown… pic.twitter.com/9aHO1ssT4G
— Heatheria (@zteit01) September 16, 2018
One of the reasons why people are advised to stay indoors during storms is because of the extremely high risk of flying objects causing injuries.
Typhoon Mangkhut has already claimed the lives of two people on the northern island of Luzon flattening homes in small towns and villages.
It’s only the 15th time in the last 60 years that a T10 alert has been hoisted; the last was for super typhoon Hato last year.
The city’s famed Victoria Harbour is expected to see a storm surge of 3.5 metres later on Sunday.
Hundreds of flights from the city’s airports were delayed or cancelled, and much of the city’s public transport has been suspended.
According to reports, typhoon Mangkhut is currently moving 30 km per hour toward the coast of China’s Guangdong.
The typhoon also damaged Macao special administrative regions smashing windows, uprooting trees, swaying buildings, collapsing external walls, and flooding lobbies in residential estates.
A total of 111 people – 60 men and 51 women – in Hong Kong had sought medical treatment at public hospitals during the typhoon. There were 76 reported cases of fallen trees, the Hong Kong SAR government said.