Pedestrians walk past a fallen tree after typhoon Vicente passed Hong Kong on Tuesday. More than 100 people were injured and over 1,000 trees were either uprooted or had their trunks damaged during the storm. Philippe Lopez / AFP

A scaffolding collapses atop a residential building in the aftermath of typhoon Vicente in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Philippe Lopez / AFP

Passengers complain East Rail Line failed to provide alternate transport

Weary transit passengers finally made their way home on Tuesday morning, after hundreds of East Rail passengers were left stranded along the line, when the worst typhoon in the last 13 years blasted the city on Monday. More than 100 people were injured by the storm.

The East Rail Line of the MTR abruptly halted service at midnight on Monday, after trees, toppled by the storm, affected the line. Crowds of passengers criticized the railway runner for failing to provide any alternative transport, as passengers remained stuck in trains or along platforms, or in halls at several MTR stations for the entire night.

At the Tai Wai station, more than 100 passengers spent the night there. Ms Lo stayed on a train overnight and arrived home at Fanling at 8 am on Tuesday. The entire line resumed service at 7:30 am on Tuesday.

Adi Lau, chief of operating of MTR, responded to the criticisms, saying that when storm signal No 9 was issued by the observatory at 11:20 on Monday night, trees were collapsing along the east rail line. The worst came when an electric cable near the Tai Po Market Station was damaged by toppling trees, affecting the rail service.

"Based on safety consideration, we needed to stop the operation of east rail line promptly and tried to drive the train with the passengers to the nearest station. This is the safest arrangement for passengers," said Lau.

He added the staff of MTR did their best to do rush repairs under the extremely poor weather, and that the railway runner started to provide partial service at 5:30 on Tuesday morning. Lau asked for the understanding of passengers.

The observatory issued severe typhoon signal No 10 for the first time in 13 years early on Tuesday morning. The average wind speed reached over 117 kilometers at about 2 am. Maximum sustained winds recorded at Ngong Ping, Cheung Chau and Cheung Chau Beach were 180, 141 and 125 kilometers per hour respectively, the observatory said.

The typhoon weakened after making landfall at Taishan, Guangdong province, on Tuesday morning. The observatory lowered the signal to No 8 at 3:35 and then to No 3 at 10:10, as typhoon Vicente moved away from Hong Kong.

Service on public transport gradually returned to normal on Tuesday. Ferry service from Hong Kong to Macao resumed at 11:15 and Macao to Hong Kong at 10:30. The Star Ferry resumed service between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wanchai, Tsim Sha Tsui and Central at 11:30. Ferry services between Central and Cheung Chau and Mui Wo also resumed at noon.

Authorities have received reports of 1,033 fallen trees, one landslip, and seven flooding cases. During the storm, 138 injured people sought medical treatment at public hospitals, with 71 admitted for treatment.

The airport authority reported at 5 pm on Tuesday that 79 flights had been cancelled, 325 delayed and 21 diverted to other places.

fanfeifei@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 07/25/2012 page1)