The weather observatory raised the storm warning to the city's maximum Typhoon 10 signal -- meaning hurricane force winds are expected -- at 9:10 am (0110 GMT). The typhoon is expected to edge towards the Pearl River Estuary and to make landfall within around 100 kilometres to the west of Hong Kong in the afternoon. The territory's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said almost all its flights leaving before 5:00pm (0900 GMT) Wednesday would be cancelled, with Hong Kong Airlines following suit. Hong Kong Airport Authorities said that by daybreak, 420 flights had already been cancelled. Hong Kong is regularly hit by typhoons between July and October but direct hits are rare.

Source: The Nation Bangkok August 23, 2017 01:52 UTC