Ordinary Gweilo

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Damp squib

Jul 16, 2004

Hong Kong had its first no.8 typhoon signal of the year today. Almost everyone leaves work and rushes home, and some people join long queues in supermarkets. Wait an hour or two and the streets are clear, public transport is still operating (but with few passengers) the supermarkets are still open (and largely empty), and generally life is very agreeable. A few squally showers and a bit of wind maybe, but I can cope with that.

I really wonder what happens to otherwise sane people when the typhoon signal is raised. It’s as if they turn into giggling schoolchildren. Oh, goody, I can leave work early. Oh, I must go and stock up on food even though there are long queues. Oh dear, what will happen if I don’t get home immediately.

Two years ago I was in Causeway Bay when the no.8 signal was raised. I had a meeting arranged, and so we carried on regardless. By the time it was finished a few hours later, the whole area was deserted. I went into the (almost empty) supermarket and bought a few odds and ends and wandered across the road to catch a tunnel bus so that I could go home. No problem getting home, and no crowds of people.

Today I had to go to a meeting across the border. Over lunch I was amazed to hear people worrying about how to get home. The KCR will stop running, there won’t be any buses, we’ll be stranded. Of course we weren’t. As I say, some strange form of madness seems to take over when the no.8 signal is raised.

Posted in Life in Hong Kong

17 responses to “Damp squib”

BWG

Jul 16, 2004

It was busy at the border when we crossed, but coming back was great! I got through both immigration queues in under two minutes.
Signal 8 is nothing to worry about unless you live in a shack on the flood plains of the New Territories.

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Tom – Daai Tou Laam

Jul 17, 2004

Well speak for yourselves…
All ferry service stopped around 1p or 1:15p. Probably didn’t restart until 10p or so. So if you lived on one of the outlying islands, you’d be stuck with no way home until after the storm was finished.
And bus services actually were cancelled yesterday after 3:30p or 3:45p. Though yesterday’s storm barely qualified for a US tropical storm.

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Paul Marriott

Jul 17, 2004

It’s just as well I am on annual leave 🙂

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Chris

Jul 17, 2004

I don’t believe that all bus services were cancelled – this is one of the many urban myths that seems to accompany typhoons. Some bus services were reduced, but they don’t stop operating when the no.8 signal is raised.
I agree that if you live on the outlying islands then you have a problem, but that’s a small minority of the population.

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spacehunt

Jul 17, 2004

No, NWFB and Citybus really did cancel all bus services (on Hong Kong Island at least) at 3:30pm yesterday.

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Chris

Jul 17, 2004

What a bunch of weasels! I have no way of verifying this, as I live and work in the New Territories, and was in China yesterday, but if they really cancelled all bus services because of a bit of rain and some wind then that’s hopeless.

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Simon World

Jul 19, 2004

Asia by blog

Doing the rounds for the Asian blogging round-up: Hong Kong, Taiwan and China Slowly minds are being turned on the idea that China might actually invade Taiwan. Richard notes that, as is often the case, the media sometimes has hidden agendas on this is…

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Lam Leung Sze

Jul 20, 2004

I was definitly in Hong Kong on the from the 3rd-the 15th visiting family and left to go back to the States on that thursday. My parents lived there for quite a while and I am also originally from Hong kong. I have to say that when a level 8 is raised it’s a big deal to many people because many aren’t as fortunate as some to live in well built apartment buildings. If you live in Hong kong then I know you’ve seen some of the older buildings and the shacks. There are some people who even live on rooftops and then of course there are those who live on boats. Many people in hong kong don’t own cars or even know how to drive, so public transportation is a huge deal to them.
Basically, what I’m saying is that I wouldn’t just write these people off as wimps. They’ve lived there their entire lives and they’ve probably seen lots of damage caused by typhoons. I have lots of family over there and I was worried for them. I left a day before this all happened of course but like I said before, there are lots of people who are much less fortunate. It’s not like it’s a fun day where you can get off work and not get stuck in traffic. For some people it really could mean life or death. Surely they wouldn’t let you off work for nothing. I know chinese people, they are hard workers and it’s rare that they would ever willingly close up shop. If they do then something big is coming. You probably work on a salary and a day off for you is no big deal and is probably even fun, but for the large majority of the people of hong kong who own their own shops, every minute that they are closed they lose money. I think maybe you should give them a little more credit. As a Hong Kong Citizen I was insulted by how you addressed the situation as if it were nothing at all and made Hong Kong people seem like silly children.
Consider yourself lucky. You haven’t yet seen the damage a real level 8 typhoon can do. I doubt your attitude would be the same if you’d ever actually been in one. Maybe then you would understand why everyone was so worried.

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Vav

Jul 20, 2004

For those of you who don’t know what happens when a typhoon hits China: http://www.iht.com/articles/108711.html
Eh, I understand why Chinese reading “Chris’” comments above might take offense, but honestly, you shouldn’t be too hard on the guy. Let him roam about during level 8 typhoons. Stupid people get killed easier, and then they can’t post their messages anymore. The natural corollary of this of course—you won’t have to listen to them.

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Chris

Jul 20, 2004

Lam Leung Sze,
I have been here during bad typhoons, and I wouldn’t venture out when things are really bad, but honestly this one was not serious. There was never any prospect of the No.9 or No.10 signals being raised even though the typhoon did make landfall in Hong Kong.
At least in part, I blame the Hong Kong Observatory. The No.8 signal is raised when all we have are some rain and light winds.
I am fully aware that in the past typhoons were more serious, but in the last 6-7 years I think only one person has been killed as a direct result of a typhoon. These days you are much more likely to be killed or seriously injured crossing the road, and I think we have to get the risks into perspective and take decisions accordingly.
I am confused by the second part of your argument. You correctly point out that if you close your business you are losing money. I agree, and my perspective is totally NOT that of a salaried employee who is pleased to get an unexpected day off. I had things to do, and I carried on working on Friday as normal. I judged that the risk I was taking was absolutely minimal and indeed I got home without any problems – by using public transport.
If people really believe that are at risk in a typhoon then I would totally support them in leaving work early. However, if you live in a safe, modern, apartment block and you can take the KCR or MTR to get home then I don’t see that there is really any need to leave work early (and still less excuse to waste the preceding couple of hours talking about the storm).

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Chris

Jul 20, 2004

I must stress that this is not at all a racist comment. Gweilos are guilty of wishing storms on Hong Kong and then repairing to bars in Lan Kwai Fong as soon as the No.8 signal is raised. This madness seems to affect most people, regardless of race.

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Winds of Change.NET

Jul 21, 2004

Simon’s East Asia Overview: 2004-07-21

Simon World gives us a round-up of news, cultural notes, and other items of interest from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, Korea and Japan, and Southeast Asia. From a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan to the shifting political sands of Indonesia, you’ll…

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Winds of Change.NET

Jul 21, 2004

Simon’s East Asia Overview: 2004-07-21

Simon World gives us a round-up of news, cultural notes, and other items of interest from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, Korea and Japan, and Southeast Asia. From a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan to the shifting political sands of Indonesia, you’ll…

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Lawranne

Aug 3, 2004

Ah, yes, I remember the first time the signal 8 went up when I lived in Hong Kong. We and some of our friends, none of whom had lived in Hong Kong for very long, all went out to eat in a virtually deserted restaurant before making our leisurely ways home. Big mistake. By the time we started trying to get the storm boards up on the glass doors to our balcony, it was a major (and quite dangerous) struggle. We were lucky – thirteen people died in Typhoon Ellen in 1983. Others were injured by flying glass or other objects. The fact that we were in a reasonably modern building did not prevent some of our neighbors’ windows from blowing in, even with the storm boards.
I learned my lesson – it is far better to be overprepared and be able to laugh about it than to be underprepared and put yourself and your family at risk. Although I no longer live in Hong Kong, I think about Typhoon Ellen every time a hurricane warning comes up and I get busy preparing.
As a non-resident, I apologize for invading your website, but I happened to come across Chris’s comment as I was looking for something else and it resonanted, particularly as I had just seen a similar ly nonchalant comment from someone about the newly up-graded Hurricane Alex.

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Chris

Aug 4, 2004

All comments are welcome!!
You are right that we need to distinguish between a really bad storm and the type of ‘damp squib’ I am talking about. The Hong Kong Observatory makes it very clear what is likely to happen, and this time it was obvious that there was no chance of a no.9 or no.10 signal and therefore minimal risk of serious damage.
It seems to me that there is a real danger here that arises from people ‘crying wolf’. If there was a really bad storm coming, I would go home as quickly as possible and take appropriate precautions, but you are right that some people might take it less seriously and have real problems.

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enoch

Apr 21, 2005

hi

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The Bloke who likes Cookies

Jul 23, 2012

T8 sometimes is serious if the winds are strong. when u walk along the streets and old sign boards are really serious stuff when it hits u. i experienced more stronger than this.. i`ve exprienced Hurricanes and massive storms in different country. but HK observatory are too sensitive for putting up cautions. i think the out laying islands having difficulty on landslides, cities would be probably sign boards and road accidents. lived in hk 17 years typhoons here are not really that deadly. comparing to philippines and hawaii. 🙂

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