Experts have stressed the importance of buying insurance coverage for the structure and content of Hongkongers’ homes after a Cheung Sha Wan flat’s window wall was among those shattered when Typhoon Wipha struck the city.
Selina Lau Pui-ling, CEO of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, on Monday called on flat owners to ensure that their homes were insured to reduce financial losses, especially as extreme weather could become more common in the coming years.
Wipha struck the city on Sunday, triggering the top-level No 10 typhoon warning as the maximum average wind speed near its centre reached 140km/h (87mph).
The Buildings Department said on Monday that it had received 25 reports of accidents linked to the typhoon, most of which involved windows being blown out.
The tropical cyclone reportedly smashed a two-by-1.5-metre (6.6-by-4.9-foot) window wall at a flat at The Pacifica private housing estate at the height of the typhoon.
In a video provided by the resident, a gaping hole can be seen from outside the flat, with broken glass scattered nearby. A mattress can also be seen temporarily covering the hole.
