Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed on Thursday that no Filipinos were reported hurt in the destructive attack of Typhoon “Hato” on the cities of Hong Kong and Macau.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that initial reports from Consul General Lilibeth Deapera of the Philippine Consulate in Macau and Deputy Consul General Roderico Atienza of the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong indicated that there are no Filipino nationals among the casualties or injured by the typhoon.
The Hong Kong Observatory, the city’s weather service, was prompted to declare a storm signal number 10 — the highest level storm alert in Hong Kong’s weather warning system — over the Special Administrative Region.
South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong reported that the T-10 typhoon is estimated to have caused around HK$ 8 billion in damage, around $1.02 billion.
Meanwhile, the DFA stated that there are more than 211,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong and almost 30,000 in Macau.
The department added that the Consulates General are continuously monitoring the situation and are ready to provide all possible assistance to any Filipinos who may be affected by the typhoon.
In a statement released by the DFA, Cayetano said that he was saddened by reports of the disastrous effects of Typhoon Hato on Hong Kong and Macau, and condoled with the families who have lost their loved ones.