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Typhoon Mangkhut that rammed into Hong Kong on September 16, 2018 was described by The Washington Post (TWP) as "the planet’s most intense storm this year.” But thankfully there was no known injury to the small Parsi community that numbers around 250 there. Fortunately the 23-storey Zoroastrian Building owned by the Zoroastrian Charity  Funds of    Hongkong,    Canton    and   Macao (ZCFHCM), the income from which enables the association to make its munificent charities, "is fine barring a few minor leakages,” responded president Neville Shroff  when Parsiana expressed concern to leading members of the community in the Special Administrative Region.
"Considering the magnitude of the typhoon,” he was relieved that at the "iconic Parsee Cemetery, the marble grave stones, the very tall trees and large scale vegetation remained unscathed (although) the iron gate was damaged.”
On the home front "the typhoon did much damage to our garden… Some were old trees, over 100 years,” added Shroff.
"The high-rise buildings are designed to sway with the wind to reduce the buildup of tension. Some wobbled more than five feet at the top. But that doesn’t extend any protection to the windows. Once one shatters, the rest are much more prone to break, thanks to changing interior pressure forces with each incoming wind gust,” explained TWP.
The Hong Kong Observatory had reportedly issued an exceptionally rare Signal 10 on its 1-to-10 scale for storms. The ocean climbed to its highest level since 1904 and waves towered up to 45 feet.
Providentially, the residential properties of other leading members of the community are safe too although some felt the impact as gathered from various responses received in the days following the typhoon:
"In my eight decades of living here, this was by far the longest and very worst experience ever,” noted former         ZCFHCM president Noshir Pavri, adding, "The blow lasted all of seven hours, with sustained winds of 178 kph (kilometers per hour) and gusts hitting as high as 267 kph which effectively shook our building much of the time. On our top floor apartment, we only took in a bit of water from one of the windows and on a lower floor, an 18-inch fixed pane blew out, but apart from that we came through okay…

 

 

 

 

"Yes it was scary at times, but we were prepared and had safety shutters and other precautions in place, so it was just a question of sitting it out and keeping toes and fingers crossed.
"Certain areas on the harbor front were very severely hit, as the storm surge topped 18’, so waterfront luxury homes had windows smashed by waves as high as the fifth floor, and basement car parks were totally flooded, submerging scores of vehicles parked there. I imagine court cases will now start as to who is responsible for the damage to the cars which must be a total write off being submerged for 36 hours or more in sea water.
"Right now is a massive clean-up job as there is no public transport of any sort as roads are blocked with fallen trees, either partially or totally blocking it, but government crews have been out since late last night sawing and cleaning the roads, on a priority basis. I am sure we will be up and running by tomorrow although there might still be a few one-ways for the time being. Latest reports say about 600 road blockages have been reported all over Hong Kong and Kowloon.”
Responded asset management and investment advisor Jimmy Master: "It was the mother of all storms, such ferocity and damage, something I have not experienced in Hong Kong. Most roads are closed due to fallen debris. Bus and rail services are on very limited service today and it will take a few days for the city to get working again, but otherwise we are all fine. On a happier note, my younger daughter Tanya gave birth early yesterday to a girl, Eva Simone Clark, a real typhoon baby if there ever was one! Baby and mother are just fine. We have not been able to get to the hospital, and she will be discharged tomorrow, so for the time being it is only video calling.”
"With the grace of God, our buildings and I are keeping safe from the most intense storm hitting Hong Kong,” responded philanthropist Purviz Shroff.  "As you are aware, our buildings are located on Duddell Street. Unfortunately the heritage flight of steps and gas lamps at the end of the Street were severely damaged. They were the only surviving working gas street lamps in Hong Kong. It will definitely take some more time for Hong Kong to fully recover from the storm,” she added.
"Hong Kong is an incredible place. The clean-up operations which took place immediately after the typhoon were amazing. Roads were cleared the very next day and fallen trees and debris moved to a side, allowing traffic to flow through as usual. Sadly, we lost some grand and beautiful towering trees which were over a hundred years old. Some streets are looking a bit bare but nature will surely restore the balance in time,” stated ZCFHCM erstwhile trustee Pervin and ex president Jal Shroff whose personal donation of USD 22.5 million (Rs 166 crores) is meant to finance the construction of the cosmopolitan wing of The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital so that its profits can support the Hospital’s free Parsi patients.