The death toll in Macau from Typhoon Hato rose to nine, the government said on Friday, after rescuers found another body in an underground carpark and authorities scrambled to deal with the storm’s aftermath and mounting public criticism.
MACAU: The death toll in Macau from Typhoon Hato rose to nine, the government said on Friday, after rescuers found another body in an underground carpark and authorities scrambled to deal with the storm’s aftermath and mounting public criticism.
Typhoon Hato, a number 10 force typhoon, pummelled the world’s biggest gambling hub on Wednesday, causing extensive damage, a near city-wide blackout, water supply disruptions and serious flooding.
Amidst mounting public outrage at the government’s handling of the storm, including the perceived failure to adequately warn residents as the storm approached, Macau’s leader, Fernando Chui, apologised and said the head of Macau’s weather observatory, Fong Soi-kun, would step down.
Even as nearby Hong Kong shut down and closed financial markets for the day, Macau’s authorities failed to raise a sufficiently high typhoon warning signal, critics said, leading many residents to go to work the same day the storm hit.
