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TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1985
HK GETS BACK TO WORK AS HAL GOES INLAND
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LIFE IN HONG KONG BEGAN RETURNING TO NORMAL TODAY WITH THE LOWERING OF THE NO. 3 SIGNAL AT 10.45 AM, AS TYPHOON HAL WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL STORM AND MOVED NORTHEAST SLOWLY ACROSS SOUTH CHINA.
BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON, HAL HAD WEAKENED INTO AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTH CHINA.
ALL PUBLIC TRANSPORT RESUMED NORMAL SERVICE, EXCEPT FOR THE SHA TIN TO MEISHA HOVERFERRY, WHICH WILL RESUME OPERATIONS TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY) MORNING.
BUT THE WEATHER AT THE KAI TAK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CAUSED THE CANCELLATION OF ONE INCOMING FLIGHT FROM MANILA, AND THE DELAY OF ANOTHER FLIGHT FROM TAIPEI, AND ONE DEPARTING FOR TAIPEI.
ON THE EDUCATION FRONT, HOWEVER, WHILE SCHOOLS REMAINED CLOSED, ALL PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS WERE HELD AS SCHEDULED.
BY 5 PM. THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAD REGISTERED 51 FAMILIES, COMPRISING 197 PERSONS MADE HOMELESS BY THE STORM, ALL OCCUPANTS OF SQUATTER HUTS WHICH HAD COLLAPSED, BEEN FLOODED OR WERE IN DANGER OF BEING AFFECTED BY MUDSLIPS. OF THESE 197 PERSONS, 150 WERE STAYING IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS AND THE OTHERS WITH RELATIVES OR FRIENDS.
ABOUT
SOME 49 TYPHOON SHELTERS WERE KEPT OPEN BY THE CITY AND NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION, PROVIDING SHELTER FOR ABOUT 29 PERSONS.
OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS, 10 PERSONS WERE INJURED IN TYPHOON- RELATED INCIDENTS, AND, EXCEPT FOR A 45-YEAR OLD WOMAN WHO WAS ADMITTED TO QUEEN MARY HOSPITAL WITH A HEAD WOUND FROM A FALLING OBJECT AND WAS IN A SATISFACTORY CONDITION, ALL THE OTHERS WERE TREATED AND DISCHARGED.
UP TO THIS MORNING, THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE OF THE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAD RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 105 REPORTS OF MINOR FLOODINGS, OF WHICH 80 WERE ON HONG KONG ISLAND, 15 IN KOWLOON AND 10 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES. AND DURING THE SAME PERIOD, 14 MINOR MUDSLIPS, THREE ON HONG KONG ISLAND, SEVEN IN KOWLOON AND FOUR IN THE NEW TERRITORIES WERE REPORTED. HOWEVER, THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF DAMAGE TO CROPS AND LIVESTOCK IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.
HAL HAD FORMED AS A TROPICAL DEPRESSION OVER THE PACIFIC ON JUNE 19 AND INTENSIFIED INTO A TYPHOON EAST OF THE' PHILIPPINES ON JUNE 21.
AFTER SKIRTING THE NORTHERN TIP OF LUZON EARLY ON JUNE 22, HAL LANDED ABOUT 70 NAUTICAL MILES TO THE EAST OF HONG KONG AT 2 PM ON MONDAY (JUNE 24).
IN HONG KONG