A super typhoon swirled towards Hong Kong and the Chinese coast, gaining in strength over the South China Sea after hurtling through the Philippines. Typhoon Mangkhut, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ompong is a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall in the Philippine province of Cagayan on September 15, 2018. Mangkhut is the twenty-second tropical storm, and ninth typhoon of the annual typhoon season. The strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2018 at its peak, it is bound to hit Southern China, including cities such as Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macau, and Yangjiang and dissipate in Northern Vietnam. As of September 16, at least 30 fatalities have occurred in the Philippines.
On September 5, 2018, a tropical disturbance at the Northeastern tip of a substantial westerly wind burst in the equatorial Pacific was noted by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center near the International Date Line, and was classified as Invest 99W. By 03:00 UTC on September 7, the disturbance developed into a tropical depression near the Marshall Islands, receiving the designation 26W. Later the same day, the Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded 26W to a tropical storm, thus receiving the name Mangkhut. Rapid intensification happened as Mangkhut moved westward, and by September 11, Mangkhut made landfall in Rota, Northern Mariana Islands as a Category 2-equivalent typhoon. On the following day, Typhoon Mangkhut entered the PAR on September 12 as a Category 5 super typhoon, and accordingly PAGASA named the storm Ompong. Watches and warnings were issued by PAGASA in preparation for Mangkhut's expected landfall, and on September 13, local officials initiated evacuations for residents in the typhoon's expected path. The typhoon made landfall on the municipality of Baggao, Cagayan at September 15, 2018, 1:40 am Philippine Standard Time (September 14, 17:40 UTC), as a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon, with 1-minute sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph).
Tropical cyclone warning signals were hoisted by PAGASA as early as September 13. Preemptive and forced evacuations were implemented, especially in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Regions, the three regions widely expected to be severely affected by Mangkhut. Class suspensions were announced as early as September 12 in preparation for the incoming typhoon. Medical and emergency response teams were placed on standby, and ₱1,700,000,000 of relief goods were prepared by September 13.
In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Observatory issued the Hurricane Signal No. 10, which is the highest level of tropical cyclone warning signals in Hong Kong. This marked only the third time that this warning has been issued for the region since 1999, with the others being with Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Vicente in 2012. The Hong Kong Government convened an inter-departmental meeting on September 12 to discuss possible responses to the storm.
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