Hong Kong counts cost of Typhoon Wipha: losses of ‘up to HK$2 billion’ on Sunday

Typhoon Wipha may have caused financial losses of up to HK$2 billion (US$255 million) in Hong Kong on Sunday alone when the city issued the maximum warning signal, according to economists, as businesses counted damages.

Professor Terence Chong Tai-leung, Executive Director of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), said on Monday that the catering, retail, and transport sectors were the hardest hit.

Wipha, a Thai name meaning “splendour” or “radiance”, triggered the highest-level No 10 warning over the weekend. This forced most residents to stay indoors and led to the cancellation of 500 flights, affecting around 100,000 passengers.

Lau estimated that the losses on Sunday, during which the hurricane signal No 10 was in effect for seven hours, could be around HK$2 to HK$3 billion. He added that the financial damage would have been higher if the typhoon had occurred on a weekday.

“There is less economic activity on Sunday, so including damages, the losses will not be as severe as [a typhoon] on a working day,” he said.

“Expenditures usually associated with weekends such as in tourism, retail or taking taxis would be reduced, but likely less than half a day of GDP,” he said.