A man braves strong winds and heavy rain as he walked past an Olympic decoration in Tsim Sha Tsui while the city was battered by severe tropical storm Kammuri yesterday. Edmond Tang

Severe tropical storm Kammuri wreaked havoc in Hong Kong yesterday, disrupting air, land and sea transport as well as the ongoing secondary six admission procedure.

More than 100 parents and secondary five leavers queued up outside the Lung Cheung Government Secondary School in Wong Tai Sin since Tuesday, a day after receiving their Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination results, hoping to secure a secondary six place. But their wait proved to be in vain as the admission exercise was postponed amid the tropical storm.

One of the parents, who had been queuing since 7pm Tuesday, was angered when the school refused to let him and the students in.

A couple hold on to each other amid a strong gale at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai yesterday. CNS

"I am very dissatisfied. I heard that other schools have allowed the applicants in even though the admission procedure is postponed. It is tough waiting outside under the heavy rain," he said.

Another frustrated parent even called a radio phone-in program to complain. "The situation is very chaotic. No one takes care of us. The school principal should come here and handle the chaos."

The Hong Kong Observatory raised the signal to No 8 at 5:40am yesterday and lowered it to No 3 at 5:15pm. The Education Bureau decided at 5:52am to halt the secondary six admission exercise until today.

Principal assistant secretary of the bureau Wong Yau Wai-ching said they have ordered schools to let students and parents in at about 8am, and reminded students that school places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Meanwhile, as at 5:30pm, 124 departure flights were delayed and 23 departure flights were canceled, whereas 72 and 14 arrival fights were delayed and canceled respectively.

Five other flights had to be rerouted.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair suspended the takeoff and landing of flights from 4pm to 8pm.

Large groups of travelers were left stranded in the airport.

Two women in Tsim Sha Tsui fight their way forward in strong winds. Edmond Tang

Bus, ferry and train services were also disrupted when the No 8 signal was in force.

A total of 37 patients were received at the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals because of injuries incurred during the tropical storm, a spokesman of the Hospital Authority said.

The patients were aged between 14 and 89. Among them, 18 are still under treatment. All patients are in stable condition.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department received 35 reports of fallen trees and 22 reports of road closure because of fallen trees and collapsed scaffoldings.

Three cases of flooding and one case of landslide occurred on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon.

Hong Kong Disneyland was closed for the whole day. Classes, including evening classes, were canceled.

The Home Affairs Department opened 21 temporary shelters, which received 132 people as of 5pm yesterday.

(HK Edition 08/07/2008 page1)