The lower deck of Sai Van Bridge, which was closed since yesterday evening due to Super Typhoon Ragasa, was reopened by local authorities at 4 pm today coinciding with Macau’s Typhoon Signal No. 10 downgraded to Signal No. 8, which will remain in force for a period of time.
In addition, since the water level in low-lying areas started to recede, power supply that was temporarily suspended in areas affected by flooding is gradually resuming, and so are 27 public car parks in the low-lying areas, as Ragasa begins to move away from Macau and its intensity weakening.
Moreover, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) replaced the red storm surge warning with a blue storm surge warning at 3 pm in response to the water level in the city’s low-lying areas receding, and it is expected to keep falling.
As of 5 pm, the Civil Protection Operations Centre has recorded a total of 207 incidents throughout the Macau SAR, including 40 cases of “buildings/lamp posts/trees that are on the verge of collapse or have collapsed”, 125 cases of “concrete, signboards, windows, canopies or other objects falling or swinging, as well as six cases of “scaffolding, scales or other construction facilities falling or swinging.
Meanwhile, the number of users in the emergency shelters until 6 pm were 181, while the number of users in the emergency shelters during the opening hours were 694.
At 5 pm, Ragasa, downgraded as a severe typhoon, was estimated to be about 170km west-southwest of Macau, moving west at around 20km/h towards the western Guangdong’s coast.
Despite the typhoon moving away from Macau and the downgraded warning signal, the SAR is still under the influence of Ragasa’s “core circulation” and the local wind force is expected to still reach force 8 or above, SMG has warned.
The public is advised to still pay attention to the impact of severe weather. Although the flood level has receded, the tide difference remains high. Only when the floor risk has passed will all storm surge warnings be cancelled.
Furthermore, frequent showers and thunderstorms are expected to remain in Macau. SMG advises the public to remain indoors and continue to pay attention to the latest weather updates during Signal No. 8. For more information about the local weather visit the weather bureau’s website. – GNM
Image: Unsplash/@tannermess
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