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HONG KONG - One man is missing and seven people are in serious condition in hospital after Typhoon Nuri battered Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain, officials said Saturday.
The 36-year-old man apparently took advantage of a lull in the storm to go for a swim on Friday afternoon, but got into difficulties when strong winds resumed.
Forecasters had said there may be a temporary lull as the eye of the storm passed over the southern Chinese territory, but it would be followed by violent winds from a different direction.
Two other swimmers had to be rescued on the same beach, known as Big Wave Bay and popular with surfers, the South China Morning Post said.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued its highest storm warning in five years Friday and told people to stay indoors as the city took a rare direct hit from Nuri.
Trading on the city's financial markets halted, schools and most offices were closed, bus and ferry services suspended and nearly 500 flights were cancelled, delayed or redirected.
More than 100 people were injured in the storm and seven are in a serious condition, the government said in a statement.
Nuri weakened into a severe tropical storm after slamming into Hong Kong's east coast on Friday afternoon packing winds of up to 131 kilometres (81 miles) per hour.
It weakened further as it passed over the territory and into China's southern Guangdong province.
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