20 years ago, Typhoon Prapiroon sparked outrage when the Hong Kong Observatory did not raise the No 8 signal despite risk, chaos
2-MIN READ2-MINSCMPPublished: 11:30am, 2 Aug 2026This article was first published on August 4, 2006.
The Observatory was under fire yesterday (August 3, 2006) for not hoisting a storm warning above the No 3 as Typhoon Prapiroon lashed some parts of the city with winds of up to 200km/h.
Unions said workers had been put in danger as they had gone to work as required because a No 8 signal had not been hoisted, while the swirling winds toppled cargo, blew down trees, caused traffic and flight chaos and stranded thousands of people at the airport.
Some people even suffered bee stings, as hives were knocked from the branches of trees and the occupants took out their fury on bystanders.
Meteorologist Clarence Fong Chi-kong, the host of website Weather Underground, called on the Observatory to update its storm classification system, which focuses mainly on wind speeds in the urban area.
He said it was outdated since the population had sprawled into the New Territories and outlying islands.
