Severe Tropical Storm Nuri to Strike Hong Kong Today

HONG KONG, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's stock, derivatives, forex and debt markets will remain closed for Friday morning after the city raised a severe tropical storm warning. [ID:nHKG321309].

Stock markets will open in the afternoon if the city withdraws that alert at or before noon, according to standard procedure. If the warning remains in effect after noon or 0400 GMT, trading will resume on Monday.

Typhoon Nuri, that killed four people in the northern Philippines, will come close to Hong Kong this afternoon and tonight, with a chance of a direct hit to the city, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Typhoon Nuri lashed Hong Kong with heavy rain and strong winds on Friday, sparking major flight delays, disruption to public transport and a halt to trade on the city's financial markets.

Many offices in the southern Chinese territory were closed, and ferry services suspended as meteorologists issued the level-eight storm signal, signifying the likelihood of gale-force winds.

At 11:00 am, the typhoon was centred about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east-southeast of Hong Kong and was moving towards the city at a speed of about 14 kilometres an hour.

"Nuri will be rather close to Hong Kong this afternoon and tonight with a chance of a direct hit," a spokesman for the Hong Kong Observatory said.

Five people including a 72-year-old woman and three children were killed when landslides crushed their houses in the northern regions while a farmer was missing after being washed away by an overflowing river in Ilocos province, the civil defence office reported.

Large parts of Luzon island were drenched by heavy rain, including Manila and nearby suburbs, and schools called off classes in some affected provinces, disaster relief officials said.

"We are prepared. We are not just looking at rain and strong winds, we are also looking at storm surges and strong waves in coastal areas," said Anthony Golez, deputy administrator of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.