Hong Kong is at the mercy of devastating typhoon Mangkhut, which has torn through the Philippines, wrecking the island of Luzon, and is now making landfall in Hong Kong.
The typhoon was the second this year to be regarded as the most powerful, with winds tipping 180mph monitored when it started forming.
As Mangkhut approached the island of Luzon, the storm was still reaching winds of 127mph, and 64 people were killed at landfall.
However Hong Kong has avoided the worst of the wind due to its built-up infrastructure.
Hong Kong is a Chinese administrative region with a population of seven million.
Thriving infrastructure and trade routes in the area mean the region and surrounding areas were heavily affected by the encroaching storm.
At the moment, Mangkhut is positioned 62 miles west of Hong Kong, but high winds are still able to make a full impact.
A total of 889 flights were cancelled in anticipation of the weather, and 48 temporary shelters have now been opened to house 1,200 people.
Some 2.5 million people were pre-emptively evacuated from the area.
High-rise towers in the region have been rocked by the strong winds of 125mph, which have triggered severe storm surges rising upwards of 10 feet.
How many people have been killed by typhoon Mangkhut?
In the Philippines, official reports have now confirmed 64 dead, however conditions in the region make this uncertain.
Both evacuations and emergency preparations in the area were rolled out for the almost 11 million strong population, and many people were spared the crashing winds over the last few days.
However, Mangkhut also came with intense flooding and landslides, which are still major hazards.
Landslides trapped up to 40 people, most of whom were gold miners, and their fate is currently uncertain.
Hong Kong has seen the dramatic effects of Mangkhut as the storm surges on towards mainland China,.
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has raised the storm warning level to the highest of T10, and shut much of the city down.
As the eye passed over the territory early this morning, highs of 138mph winds were recorded, and winds were consistently reaching the 107mph mark.
Despite also passing through the Pearl River Delta – home to 120 million people – only two deaths have been recorded as a result of the extreme weather.
Mangkhut has now reached mainland China, where China’s Guangdong province has already evacuated 2.45 million people.
The region has apparently now activated the 18,237 shelters it has ready for emergencies, and 632 tourism sites have been shut down.
Mangkhut’s next target is likely to be western Guangdong, where the storm is expected to slow but remain dangerous.
A high T8 warning has been applied to the area, and winds are expected to hit the 40mph mark.