Hong Kong flights to be halted Sunday evening as super typhoon Usagi roars in

Aqui em casa tambem ja estamos nos preparando......

      http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1312965/hong-kong-flights-be-halted-sunday-evening-super-typhoon-usagi-roars    
Airlines Cathay Pacific and Dragonair announced Saturday they would halt all flights in and out of Hong Kong from 6pm Sunday, as Super Typhoon Usagi roared towards the city.
After brushing past the Philippines and Taiwan, the huge storm continued on its path towards Southern China, with forecasters predicting it will reach Hong Kong in the early hours of Monday morning.
A statement on Cathay Pacific's website read: "Due to the anticipated impact of Super Typhoon Usagi approaching, the operations at Hong Kong will stop from 18: 00 on 22 September (Sunday) through 23 September (Monday).
"The airline is monitoring the situation closely and will issue further advice on the resumption of flight services.  It is anticipated that disruptions will continue on 23 September due to the impact of adverse weather and operational constraints.
"You are encouraged to defer non-essential travel on Sunday 22 September to Monday 23 September."
In Hong Kong, officials warned the storm posed a "severe threat" to the city, urging residents to brace for strong winds and possible flooding.
The Hong Kong Observatory cautioned engineers and builders to secure scaffoldings, window-panes and other temporary structures in a statement issued Saturday afternoon. It also warned that storm surges induced by Usagi might also lead to flooding in low-lying areas on Sunday night.
China's National Meteorological Center issued a red alert - its highest level warning - as it forecast gale-force winds and heavy rain.
It said Usagi would affect the coastal areas of the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian as it moved northwest.
Nearly 23,000 fishing boats had earlier taken shelter in Fujian province ahead of the storm, state media reported Saturday, while more than 4,000 people living in coastal areas were evacuated.
The typhoon battered the Batanes island group in the far north of the Philippines overnight with gusts of up to 250 kilometres (155 miles) per hour, affecting communication lines and damaging crops, officials said.
The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said that Usagi was packing sustained winds of 240 kilometres per hour (150 miles per hour) with gusts of nearly 300 kilometres per hour, making it the equivalent of a strong category four Atlantic hurricane.
As of 0400 GMT on Saturday, Usagi was still roaring through the Luzon Strait separating the Philippines and Taiwan, heading directly for the southern Chinese coast.
As of 8am on Saturday, Super Typhoon Usagi was centred about 680 kilometres north-northeast of Manila. It is forecast to move northwest or west-northwest at about 18 kilometres per hour across the western North Pacific in the general direction of the Luzon Strait.
Winds of 205 kilometers per hour were expected to bring torrential rain and destructive gusts. Philippine weather bureau forecaster Alvin Pura said the super typhoon had gathered strength and speed with gusts reaching 240 kph.
“It is the strongest typhoon in the west Pacific region this year,” a weather forecaster at the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau said. "Usagi is this year's most powerful tropical storm by wind speed anywhere in the world," Cheng Ming-Dean, director of Taiwan’s Weather Bureau added.
An Observatory spokesman said: “By and large typhoons that pass the Luzon Strait have a relatively big impact on Guangdong coastal areas.
It was difficult at the present time to estimate whether Usagi would hit Hong Kong head-on, he said, because the typhoon is still a long way from the city.
“A slight change of direction can make a considerable difference in terms of its impact on Hong Kong,” the spokesman explained.