'Observatory was right to hoist T8 early'
A former deputy head of the Observatory said on Monday that forecasters made the correct decision in issuing the No 8 typhoon signal early on Friday, despite the fact that Typhoon Saola caused less damage than expected. Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, Leung Wing-mo said the compact size of Typhoon Saola and its angle to the coastline meant it did relatively little harm compared to storms such as Typhoon Mangkhut five years ago. Representing the Hong Kong Meteorological Society, Leung told RTHK's Janice Wong said Saola weakened appreciably as it neared the SAR, and it didn't produce a strong storm surge because it moved parallel to the coastline.  However, he said the Observatory made the right move in issuing the T8 signal with plenty of time to spare. "I think this is the first time that the hoisting of the No 8 signal was announced so many hours beforehand," he said. "There are pros and cons. Of course from the precautionary principle this was the right thing to do ... everyone knows well about Typhoon Saola after it passed Hong Kong, but before that it was all based on forecasts. "The forecast was that Saola was going to be very strong and it would cause very strong storm surge and so on. That was the forecast at that time and that was the best available forecast at that time." The T8 signal was put into place at 2.40am on Friday, meaning the first day of the new school year was cancelled and many businesses and transport routes were closed while most flights were grounded. The Observatory issued the T9 signal in the evening before putting in place the maximum T10 warning at 8.15pm, the first time it had been used since 2018's Mangkhut.  The signal was lowered to T8 at 3.40am, which remained in place for more than 12 hours.  Officials reported 21 cases of flooding and two landslides, though areas that were hit hard in 2018 got off relatively lightly. Some 86 people sought medical treatment while about 1,500 trees were reported to have been felled.