Observatory Lowers Storm Signal To No 1

The observatory lowered the Strong Wind Signal No 3 to the Standby Signal No 1 at 2:10pm on Thursday as Severe Tropical Storm Ma-on moved into Guangxi.

The No 3 signal was in force for four and a half hours, following the signal eight that was in place overnight.

The observatory said Ma-on made landfall in Maoming before noon.

But it said areas of high ground in Hong Kong were still affected by strong winds at times in the early afternoon, and warned people they should still keep away from the shoreline.

Senior Scientific Officer Lee Shuk-ming said the storm took a more westerly track than forecast and it didn't come as close to Hong Kong as initially expected.

"Ma-on was a little bit further away from Hong Kong. In fact, Ma-on was closest to Hong Kong at 3-4am when it skirted about 190 kilometres to the south-southwest of Hong Kong," she said at a press conference.

Lee added that the more westerly track also resulted in tides being lower than the three metres predicted.

The territory was left relatively unscathed by the passing storm, although schools were closed for the day.

The first session of the stock market and morning court hearings were cancelled, along with various government services.

One flooding case was reported, along with four reports of fallen trees.