Hong Kong culls 19,000 birds amid avian flu alert

Seed Daily via AFP: Hong Kong culled thousands of chickens Wednesday after the potentially deadly H7N9 bird flu virus was discovered in poultry imported from China, days after a woman was admitted to hospital with the disease. Authorities found the virus in samples taken from 120 chickens imported from the nearby Chinese city of Huizhou and slaughtered nearly 19,000 birds, including 11,800 chickens.

"The rapid testing showed... that this batch of chickens carries the H7N9 virus," the city's health minister Ko Wing-man said Wednesday. Televised images showed authorities beginning
the cull Wednesday morning, with health officials in white hazmat suits dumping chickens into green plastic bins.

The bins were then pumped with carbon dioxide to kill the birds, a spokeswoman for the city's agriculture department told AFP. The carcasses were sent to landfills for disposal after the operation was completed at around 5:30 pm. Poultry imports from the mainland have been banned for three weeks....

A food market in Hong Kong, shot by Greg Willis Greg Willis, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license 

Hong Kong quarantines 19 people over second bird flu case

Terra Daily via AFP: Hong Kong on Saturday quarantined an additional 19 people after the city confirmed its second human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, less than five days after it confirmed its first, officials said.

The 19 people were close contacts of the second carrier of H7N9 in the city -- an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who had been living in the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The man developed a fever and was found to be infected with the virus on Friday after he was admitted to the city's Tuen Mun hospital on Tuesday due to underlying medical conditions. "Nineteen close contacts of the patient have been quarantined," a government statement released late Saturday said.

Out of the 19 quarantined, 13 had stayed in the same cubicle with the elderly man at the city's Tuen Mun hospital, five were his family members, and one other was the taxi driver who drove him from the border to the hospital, the statement said....

A CDC image of the H7N9 virus

Powerful typhoon kills 20 in southern China, swipes Hong Kong

Reuters: A powerful typhoon hit Hong Kong and the southern China coast on Monday, killing at least 20 people on the mainland, crippling power lines and causing flooding and gale force winds.

Typhoon Usagi, the strongest storm to hit the Western Pacific this year, began pounding the Asian financial center late on Sunday. More than 370 flights were canceled.

The No. 8 signal warning remained in force early on Monday, with financial markets closed for at least part of the morning. The weather observatory said the storm had weakened from "super" typhoon status and that it would consider lowering the warning signal before 10 a.m. (0200 GMT)

China's National Meteorological Centre issued its highest alert, with more than 80,000 people moved to safety in Fujian province and authorities deploying at least 50,000 disaster-relief workers, state Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 20 people were killed on China's southern coast, television reports said, including 13 in Shanwei in the eastern fringes of Guangdong province.

The victims included people hit by debris and others who had drowned. One man was killed by a falling window pane...

Typhoon Usagi on September 22, 2013, via NASA

Densely populated Hong Kong battens down as typhoon approaches

Reuters: A powerful typhoon headed towards the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated cities on Earth, on Sunday amid warnings of severe flooding as well as strong winds in the event of a direct hit.

Typhoon Usagi, the strongest storm to hit the Western Pacific this year, began pounding the Asian financial centre late on Sunday. Over 370 flights were cancelled in the city, while residents rushed home ahead of what weathermen warned could be the strongest hit by a typhoon in years.

The No. 8 signal warning was hoisted as winds intensified and the famous harbor churned with waves. The storm, which killed two people in the Philippines, was expected to buffet the city through Monday, possibly closing financial markets and the stock exchange.

The storm has weakened from "super" typhoon status but winds of over 160 kilometers per hour were expected. China's National Meteorological Centre issued its highest alert, with more than 80,000 people moved to safety in Fujian province and authorities deploying at least 50,000 disaster-relief workers, the state Xinhua news agency reported....

Typhoon Usagi on September 21, 2013, via NASA

Asia reels from floods as storm whacks Vietnam

Associated Press: A tropical storm whacked into Vietnam on Friday, forcing 20,000 people to be evacuated, as the Philippines braced for a new typhoon and several Asian countries reeled under floods after some of the wildest weather this summer.

Prolonged monsoon flooding, typhoons and storms have wreaked untold havoc in the region, leaving more than 600 people dead or missing in India, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, China, Pakistan and Vietnam in the last four months. In India alone, the damage is estimated to be worth $1 billion, with the worst-hit state of Orissa accounting for $726 million.

Several studies suggest an intensification of the Asian summer monsoon rainfall with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, the state-run Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said. Still, it is not clear that this is entirely because of climate change, especially in India, it said.

After pummeling the Philippines and China this week, Typhoon Nesat was downgraded to a tropical storm just before churning into northern Vietnam on Friday afternoon with sustained wind speeds of up to 73 mph (118 kph), according to the national weather forecasting center.

Heavy rains were reported in northern and central areas. Warnings were issued for flash floods and landslides in mountainous regions, and for flooding in low-lying areas. High winds whipped through the streets of the capital, Hanoi....

NASA's Water Vapor Imagery showing Nesat making landfall over the Philippines, September 27, 2011

Typhoon shuts down Hong Kong, hits China

Terra Daily via AFP: A powerful typhoon brought Hong Kong to a shutdown Thursday, with financial markets and businesses forced to close as it swept past before slamming into the Chinese island of Hainan. Typhoon Nesat, which claimed 35 lives when it barrelled across the Philippines this week, buffeted Hong Kong with winds of up to 121 kilometres (75 miles) an hour.

Weather authorities in mainland China issued the first red typhoon alert of the year as Nesat gained momentum near Hainan, an island popular with tourists. China's National Meteorological Centre warned of flooding and mudslide risks on Hainan and urged the cancellation of all outdoor activities.

About 300,000 people were evacuated in Hainan in the face of the strongest typhoon to hit China this year as it landed in Wenchang city packing winds of up to 151 kilometres an hour. Authorities in the island province called boats back to port, suspended flight and ferry services and closed schools, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

In Vietnam, authorities said fishing boats should return to port and urged farmers to harvest crops quickly to reduce potential losses from Nesat, which is expected to reach northern provinces on Friday. The Hong Kong Observatory hoisted a number-eight tropical cyclone warning before dawn, triggering the closure of schools and transport services, and authorities opened typhoon shelters for those seeking refuge...

Typhoon Nesat over the South China Sea on September 28, 2011. Shot by NASA

Hong Kong begins a study on climate change

Xinhua: The Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong government Thursday entered into a consultancy agreement with ERM-Hong Kong Ltd to undertake a comprehensive study on climate change in Hong Kong.

"With the recent release of findings of major international studies on climate change, in particular those published by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive and up-to-date study to assess the likely impact of climate change on Hong Kong," a department spokesman said.

The study will review and update the inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Hong Kong; project local GHG emission trends under different scenarios; characterize the impacts of climate change on Hong Kong; recommend additional policies and measures to reduce GHG emissions and facilitate adaptation to climate change; and assess the cost-effectiveness of the proposed measures.

The spokesman said that the study will provide a solid scientific basis for the government to formulate long-term strategies and measures for Hong Kong to mitigate GHG emissions and adapt to climate change. It will also provide useful information for preparing a submission to the Central People's Government for meeting the national communications obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, added the spokesman.

The study will span around 18 months, and is expected to be completed in late 2009. ERM-Hong Kong Ltd is an environmental, safety, health and risk consultancy...

Hong Kong's coat of arms rendered by "Zscout370," Wikimedia Commons