Aftermath of Typhoon Nida

Lots of wind, rain and choppy seas when Typhoon Nida skirted nearby

Typhoon Nida came and went overnight, though in the morning it was still Typhoon signal No. 8.

Outside the winds were blowing north east, though within an hour, from 8am to 9am, the winds subsided somewhat and the water in Victoria Harbour looked much calmer.

Some trees were damaged during the typhoon

I needed to get to the office, and walking outside just before 10am it was not too windy with light showers. However, along Forbes Street in Kennedy Town where the Banyan trees cling to the walls, there were branches and leaves strewn everywhere.

The prediction the Hong Kong Observatory possibly raising the typhoon signal to No. 9 or even 10 was overrated, though there was some destruction on the roads, with trees falling down in Kowloon Tong, scaffolding falling over in Wan Chai, and very strong winds in certain pockets of the city, though overall it wasn't too dramatic.

But the No. 8 signal didn't come down to No. 3 until just before 1pm, which meant most people had the day off, or only came into work for three or four hours.

Lots of angry Cathay and Dragon Air passengers at the airport

However the typhoon created chaos at the airport, particularly for Cathay Pacific, scrambling to get hundreds of flights back into the air, and there were a lot of angry passengers whose patience was wearing very thin.

This evening it was nice and cool -- why can't it be like this all the time!

The weather in the next few days is expected to be unsettled, but tonight, there was not a drop of rain, and cool breezes.

Trying to Rectify Bad Optics

People leave notes for the chopped down trees near Bonham Road

How nice of Hong Kong's Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po to finally come out and admit that cutting down four 100-year-old Banyan trees two weeks ago in Sai Ying Pun "seemed to be done in haste" and vowed to improve how these decisions are made in the future.

"There is room for improvement," he said in an RTHK interview. "It did cause a public outrage."

Really?!

Dozens of people came out to St Stephen's Lane near Bonham Road to mourn the deaths of the trees, that were cut down overnight by the Highway Department without much discussion, even among tree experts and government officials. Many more people expressed outrage online.

Paul Chan admits the trees were chopped down in haste

While experts later confirmed the trees needed to be chopped down for safety reasons, Chan admitted the swift actions left a bad impression.

"It seems things were done in haste. Some people even felt that we chose to do it at night since we wanted to do it stealthily," he said.

Well, yes! The optics were not good...

Last Friday, Central and Western district councillor Wong Kin-shing said he had only been informed of the authority's decision to fell the trees in an email sent minutes before the Chinese banyans were chopped down on the evening of August 7.

Chan says a review is being conducted on improving communication between government departments about cutting down trees, especially those listed as "old and valuable" in the tree register.

How about doing a proper assessment of trees that may cause potential dangers to residents, particularly those that grow out of stone walls. There are more than 300 such trees in the city, 220 of which are in Central and Western.

Forbes Street in Kennedy Town has Banyan trees on the wall

Now every time when I walk along Forbes Street towards the Kennedy Town MTR station I wonder if the Banyan trees there are going to crack and fall...

But it also seems like tree experts here can't seem to accurately read the health of trees and when something happens to them, they had been checked a year or a few months earlier and pronounced to be healthy.

What gives?

Hong Kong's Tree Conundrum

Stumps of the banyan trees are left behind on Bonham Road

On Saturday morning people living around Bonham Road in Sai Ying Pun woke up shocked to find four Chinese banyan trees growing along a stone wall were suddenly chopped down in the middle of the night.

A tree expert on a government advisory panel said the decision was "scientific", as another Chinese banyan tree collapsed on July 22 during a serious rainstorm, injuring two people.

Some residents left balloons and notes on the roots

There was no prior announcement the trees would be cut down, and so "mourners" came to the site hanging colourful balloons or leaving notes that read: "The trees are crying".

For many, the trees were a nostalgic memory of their childhood and questioned why they had to be chopped down -- could there not have been severe pruning done instead?

However it seems the Hong Kong government did not want to take any chances, and erred on the side of safety and face the wrath of residents than risk another possible accident.

It turns out the authorities may have been right.

Last night, after days of blistering heat, there was an amber rainstorm warning with lots of thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

The banyan trees before they were cut down Friday night

In the morning, four trees had collapsed, one in Repulse Bay and another in Stanley, and then one near St John's Church in Central, and the last tree in Sheung Shui.

It seems the city's aborists don't have enough experience in assessing Hong Kong's tree situation, because in many cases a year or two after they have been assessed, some trees collapse and it turns out they were completed rotted and should have been removed much earlier.

And now with residents gradually becoming more environmentally conscious, they want to save the existing trees without understanding some cannot be saved and need to be chopped down for public safety reasons.

The government really needs to do a thorough evaluation of trees in the city and monitor them more closely. They provide a natural shade and add character to our concrete jungle.

Not only do we need to protect what we have, but also plant more trees to create a greener future for our city.

Pictures of the Day: Banyan Tree

Fantastic shot looking up at a Banyan tree in Kennedy Town

Last week YTSL and I explored Kennedy Town at night and discovered there are many eateries to choose from!

The roots, large and small hang on to the stone wall

Davis Street has several options, from high-end French bistros to pizza and Mexican and pubs. And then a small alley houses a Belgian beer pub and we tried some beers there.

After walking around a bit more we discovered a decent sushi place and Chinese on the same street, and where a pub is that serves authentic Thai on Thursday evenings.

Along Forbes Street we could hear people playing basketball above us and as we looked up we saw these Banyan trees perched above whose roots scaled down the stone wall in tangles.

Some roots look similar to ginseng!

We marveled at the sight and couldn't resist taking a few pictures.