Devastation everywhere, but neighbours work shoulder to shoulder getting district back to normal

18 September 2018 rmedcalf COMMUNITY 0

UPDATE: Since the article below was written it has been reported, sadly, that a man’s body has been found in Sai Kung harbour.

A beast called Mangkhut came out of the East battering Sai Kung and surrounding districts with a fury not seen for 39 years. Blessedly no person was killed and there were no reports of animal injuries. The power of the storm devastated the area, flattening trees, smashing windows, blowing signs and anything loose about the streets. At Pak Sha Wan pier only a few boats had been sunk or overturned. The scene was worse on the waterfront. Many boats vanished. The PADI diving boat was a sad sight half-sunk in a sludge of polystyrene debris. Near the Golf Club car park a gin palace was washed onto the rocks, its hull ripped open.

Courtney GM in black leads the cleanup at Momentai

Tree at O Tau that may be 100 years old flattened

All across the district neighbours worked shoulder to shoulder clearing village roads of felled trees. New friendships were forged in the shared adversity. In O Tau at 6:00 am two men were hacking with hand-saws at the first tree blocking the winding road. By 9:00 am 30 people, men, women and children, had joined them, working their way up the road, sawing trees into manageable sections — some trunks were 18 ins thick — and hauling them to the side. It was hard work, all with hand saws; nobody could locate a chain saw. It took four hours but the villagers cleared all of O Tau Road. They knew the Government was overloaded. They had to do it themselves or remain cut off. This comradely behaviour was replicated throughout the district. Few were the people who walked on by without joining in. Some residents stayed at home sitting on spreading rears whinging on social media. The slacktivists.

In the centre of town, Man Yee Square was a sad sight yesterday. Venerated trees, decades old, were uprooted and flattened. Debris was everywhere. But the town had picked itself up, shaken off its fears and was going back to work. Most restaurants were open and the old ladies in floral tops and black trousers were back under the shelter, playing cards. By the sea opposite the 7-Eleven and not far from wrecked PADI diving boat, regulars were gathering at the “Waterfront Bar” for Monday afternoon beers. The town was coming back to normal, as it always does.