Hello and welcome to The Pulse. Even before it hit, there was every indication Typhoon Mangkhut was going to be intense and it was.
It’s the strongest typhoon ever recorded in Hong Kong. Winds with maximum sustained speeds of 250km/h wreaked havoc. And then there was the flooding: Typhoon Mangkhut brought the highest storm surge on record as sea waters rose up to 3.9 meters above normal levels. In terms of human casualties, Hong Kong got off lightly. But there was a lot of damage, for which the government seemed ill-prepared. The following day, although classes were suspended and despite widespread destruction that severely disrupted public transportation systems. Workers were forced to make long and tiring treks as they tried to get back to work.

Welcome back. In the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut, roads were strewn with foliage, broken glass and other debris. Many of the transport problems on Monday were caused by trees that toppled and blocked roads. The government says that around 15,000 trees had fallen. It may be inevitable that trees will be affected by a typhoon, but the sheer number that fell this time suggests there’s something wrong with the way Hong Kong is planting and looking after them. With me in the studio are Jim Chi-yung, Research Chair Professor of Geography & Environmental Science at The Education University of Hong Kong and Gavin Coates, a Senior Lecturer in Hong Kong University’s Division of Landscape Architecture.