Overview

• Guangdong Province activated a Level IV emergency response Friday evening, mobilizing rescue vessels, anti-pollution ships and helicopters to safeguard coastal communities.
• The Hong Kong Observatory issued the No 3 typhoon signal at 2:20 p.m. Saturday and indicated it may raise the alert to No 8 before dawn Sunday.
• Eric Chan Kwok-ki chaired a government steering committee Friday to coordinate preparations, dispatching 180 teams to clear drainage channels and inspecting 240 flood-prone sites.
• Emergency response units including fire services, police, Civil Aid Service and Auxiliary Medical Service are on standby, backed by the Emergency Transport Coordination Centre.
• Forecast models show Wipha intensifying into a typhoon as it passes south of Hong Kong by Sunday afternoon and makes landfall in western Guangdong on July 20.