Trees and scaffoldings were first to give way before windows and doors, which literally exploded under the wind pressure. The sound was frightening; imagine standing close to a Boeing 747 ready to take off for hours. Those who were unfortunate to lose their windows or to see their boats tipping had to spend horrifying hours trying to stay safe as well as rescue as much as they could.

As Mangkhut moved forward, the winds kept changing directions. We’ve never been inside a washing machine but it probably feels the same, we were attacked from all angles. Water started pouring in from window seals and most of us spent all day, until late at night, wringing towels, moping floors and filling up buckets, praying that their windows and buildings would hold.

We stayed glued to the internet to communicate amongst us trying to figure out what was happening in the city and imploring for no casualty despite the enormous amount of damage we were discovering live. Buildings were shaking, cranes were falling and water was rising flooding most districts. With so many slopes, we were lucky they were no landslides.

Mangkhut finally moved away from Hong Kong late Sunday night giving us some respite after being emotionally and physically shaken.

Going to work today, we sadly discovered a very battered Hong Kong with many trees lying on the ground, glass absolutely everywhere and beaches covered with debris and plastic. Some areas suffered more than others, offering apocalyptic scenes such as war zones. Having said that our beloved Hong Kong has always managed to bounce back fast and so today, except for schools and some governmental offices, it was business as usual 

(Pictures credits : social media & friends)