Typhoon Kammuri

Yesterday all hell was lose - a typhoon touched Hong Kong being only 130km away from the City. The T 8 signal was hoisted which happens rarely, most offices and shops were closed and most of the public transportation shut down for the whole day. It was raining cats and dogs and squally winds were pounding the whole area - during 3 years of living in HK I never witnessed such a strong storm and the streets looked like battlefields when I left our apartment late in the afternoon.

Sha Tin, the venue for the equestrian competitions

Two dozen horses due to arrive in Hong Kong by plane on Wednesday for the Olympic equestrian competition have been delayed by a severe tropical storm.

Equestrian event spokesman Mark Pinkstone said he didn't expect the bad weather to affect the competition, which starts on Saturday. 24 horses from the US, China, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Saudi Arabia were on two flights from Amsterdam.
"They'll come in as soon as the weather clears," he said.

Severe tropical storm Kammuri brought heavy rainfall and strong winds to the territory, shutting offices, courts and financial markets. The storm's expected to be well west of Hong Kong by Thursday morning, according to a Hong Kong Observatory forecast.
Mr Pinkstone said Olympic organisers expect rainfall to continue for the next few days, but that it won't affect the competition. "Under normal circumstances, if it's raining, anywhere, the equestrian sport continues," he said.

Hong Kong's hot and humid summer weather has been a contentious issue since it was designated an Olympic venue. August is the city's hottest month and typhoons can often force the entire city to close down.

Source: SCMP