We have been through a few typhoons since coming to Hong Kong.  Last year, as we moved house to Tseung Kwan O from Wu Kai Sha, we were hit with a T10 Typhoon Hato. This was the first T10 we had ever encountered since arriving in Hong Kong.  Any other Typhoon was T8 or lower.

So you can imagine our sort of … cockiness when we were encountered with Super Typhoon Mangkhut.  I think we really thought we’d seen T10, so no biggie.  Things were pretty quiet.  I don’t think anyone really expected it to be what it was.

The Calm Before the Storm

We went out the day before to look for tape as the landlord had asked us to tape the AC unit in Monster’s room.  People in Hong Kong also tape their windows.  There is a lot saying that doesn’t help at all, but still it is a thing we do in Hong Kong.  I ended up in the grocery store getting some things.  The line was all the way around the store.

Shopping was a Nightmare

I took Monster with me to find the tape and could not find it anywhere.  It was lucky though that Love found it in his wanderings.

Preparing for the Storm

We were told that the typhoon would hit in the middle of the night Saturday or early Sunday morning.  Love and I walked the pupper at around 10 PM, and things were still pretty calm.

In the Storm

It wasn’t until around 2 AM that there were sounds of the storm raging outside.  We woke up to the typhoon howling full force around us.

We watched as the light fixtures swung from the ceiling.  At one point, Love suggested taking a Bonine as I was not feeling well from feeling the building swaying under my feet.

Monster looked at the box as I was taking the medication.  She asked why I was taking it.  I told her it was because the building was moving.  She looked at the box again and said to me, “but mom, it doesn’t have building on the box.”  Love and I couldn’t contain our laughter at that one.  She said it with such seriousness.  She was technically correct.  There is no building on the box.

Love and I tried to take Pupper out, but they wouldn’t let us out of the estate.

We were directed back into the garage.  That was really our only choice to get Pupper to go to potty.

It was crazy.  The wind was enough to blow the Pupper away.  We watched as the typhoon raged on around us.  Even the garage was suffering damage from the storm outside.

This went on for most of Sunday.  It was during the late night hours that Super Typhoon Mangkhut pulled away from Hong Kong, but the damage was done.

It is policy that if the signal is T3 or lower, we still attend school, but that was not the case for Monday morning.  There was so much damage to much of Hong Kong that the EDB chose to close all schools down for the day.

The Aftermath of the Super Typhoon

There was a great deal of damage between Sai Kung and Ma On Shan.  So much so that the double decker buses were not able to get through the roads.

Still by Tuesday, there was no school for the kids.  The teachers needed to attend if they were able to get into school safely.  Tuesday night, I went with friends to Sai Kung to get pedicures.  It was incredible the amount of damage sustained in Sai Kung.  There was even a boat stuck up against the shore.  It was not the only one.

The Damage of Sai Kung

As I headed home from Sai Kung that night, it was eerie the lack of buses in the bus terminus.

It took Hong Kong quite a while to recover from this Typhoon.  Luckily though, there were no losses through this experience.  There was one foreigner discovered washed up on shore, but they aren’t sure if his death was a result of the typhoon.

This was a crazy experience for all of Hong Kong.  There are tons of videos found on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube showing the devastation of Super Typhoon Mangkhut.