How Hong Kong looks after the T8 storm signal is hoisted
It's good to have umbrellas for protection at this time --
but, honestly, I think that hard hats are over the top! :D
Something worth noting: the MTR still runs during T8
(but not during T9 or T10)
At around 2pm today, the Hong Kong Observatory issued signal number 8 in honor of the first visit by a typhoon to Hong Kong this year. If truth be told, I reckon Tropical Storm Wipha is on the wimpy side -- especially when compared to the previous typhoon that hit Hong Kong and was accorded a 10 last September. And I really wonder if it would have been rated as a T8 if Hong Kong was not in such need of some respite from the political turbulence of this summer.
This being a T8 (rather than something more highly rated), the MTR was still running, supermarkets were still open, bars (especially those located inside hotels) are famously still operating at this time, and branches of Starbucks, McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken were still receiving customer as late as 10pm. And, of course, you can count on branches of 7-Eleven and Circle K -- the majority of which are famously open for 24 hours daily -- to still be selling all manners of items, including umbrellas and tissue paper, if not toilet paper.
Nevertheless, there still are people who look upon the hoisting of a T8 (never mind higher) signal as something akin to an impending apocalypse. As it so happened, I had gone to a specialty supermarket today when the T3 signal was in place and was shocked to see super long queues for the cashiers counters. At the time, I had ascribed it to that store having had mega sales on. But upon returning home and seeing announcements about plans for the raising of the T8 signal, I got to realizing that typhoons seem to still put the fear of God into some people in a way that even major political protests can't! ;(
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