Dozens of people were wounded and trees were uprooted from the grounds as the typhoon had bashed Hong Kong with winds that measured over 140 kmph; officials said on Tuesday.

This was the first ever warning after 1999 issued by the weather authorities with the roaring Typhoon Vincente was relentlessly progressing at speeds over 100 kmph. This also caused great hindrance to the flights that were moving in and out of the hub.

However, the winds gradually reduced to the level of string winds from a typhoon by the mid-morning as it passed west while weakening over to the souther Chinese coast.

Several trees were devastated and the debris has been sent flying everywhere occasionally crashing into the commuters on the downtown streets. People were asked take shelter after the evening on Monday as a precautionary measure.

Ferry, Bus and trains were halted completely or ran at lower capacities. Ports and schools were given a holiday while over 44 flights were cancelled. There was a disrupted flight schedule that delayed more than 270 flights.

Initially stock exchange was also declared a holiday but by afternoon it resumed working as the status was declared to be A-ok.

There were 140 injured by the strom who sought medical help while 268 others had taken refuge in shelters. At the peak upscale neighborhood, there was also a landslide but no casualies were reported.
Ocean Park would be closed for a day to make an indepth inspection of the typhoons effects on the rides in the amusement park.

Mainland offcials said the typhoon hit Taishan city in Guangdong province at 4:00 am (2000 GMT Monday). Damage cause is still being assessed but as of now there are no casualities reported yet.

(AW- Anil)