The Hong Kong Observatory issued a No. 8 storm signal on Tuesday afternoon as typhoon Hagupit moved to within 200 kilometers of the city, forcing the cancellation of school classes, flights and ferry services.

Typhoon Hagupit brought rains and strong winds to Hong Kong on Tuesday, with the observatory issuing a No. 3 strong wind signal in the morning, which means that winds with mean speeds of 41 to 62 kilometers per hour were expected.

The alert was upgraded to a No. 8 storm signal at 6:00 PM (1000 GMT), which means that winds with mean speeds of 63 kilometers per hour or more were expected.

The Observatory said typhoon Hagupit was centered about 190 kilometers south of Hong Kong at 9:00 PM (1300 GMT) and was forecast to move towards the western coast of Guangdong province at about 28 kilometers per hour.

The Airport Authority said many flights were canceled or affected the severe weather conditions, with major operators Cathay Pacific and Dragonair saying that their flights were all canceled starting from 9:00 PM on Tuesday.

Cathay Pacific said it expected the flights to resume at 8:00 AM on Wednesday.

The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced in the afternoon that classes for all schools on Tuesday were canceled.

Ferry services leading to the outlying islands were first reduced in the afternoon and suspended towards the evening, with the last star ferry canceled by 8:00 PM.

Road traffic, which was largely unaffected during the day, began to be reduced towards evening, with bus services available for only a few routes after 9:00 PM. Most of the taxi drivers were also hurrying home to avoid dangerous storms.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2008)