Hong Kong, 15 October 2025: “When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high … ” So begins the Liverpool football anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, which is sure to be ringing in our ears when brother Ian and I attend the club’s Champions League fixture against glamorous visitors Real Madrid early next month. “Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain,” it continues. Stirring stuff on a European night at Anfield – one of the beautiful game’s great cathedrals, which I’ll be visiting for the first time – less advisable in a Hong Kong typhoon. In the latter instance, our government would rather residents stay home.
Several citizens are facing charges of child neglect for taking minors to the waterfront when Super Typhoon Ragasa hit our city recently. They were among scores of residents who ignored official warnings and gathered to watch the waves. One family had to be rescued after the mother and son were swept into the sea and the father dived in to help. Another incident saw a man detained for swimming at a closed-off beach.
Storm chasing is strongly discouraged by the authorities and with good reason: it endangers personal safety, puts rescuers at risk and wastes public resources. Some 230 police and fire officers, plus members of the Government Flying Service, have been deployed this year to save citizens who have insisted on camping, hiking, swimming or wave watching during extreme weather. There have been 13 such incidents thus far in 2025, following 29 last year and 39 the year before. One earlier mission, in which 160 personnel spent 24 hours rescuing two tourists hiking on Kowloon Peak during a typhoon, totalled HK$344,000 in staffing costs alone.
Security minister Chris Tang has previously weighed legislation to deter such behaviour. Now, though, he concedes drafting a new law against storm chasing is challenging. Even trying to recover costs from those rescued would be problematic. “If someone loses a life because they do not report it for fear they could be fined, that is not something we want to see,” he reasons. Existing laws already cover some thrill seeking activities, he points out, while educating the public is key.
Hong Kong Bar Association chairman José-Antonio Maurellet SC also sounds a note of caution. Any law penalising storm-chasing should strike a balance between personal freedoms and safety, he observes. “In life, there are a lot of choices that are personal and that people should have the freedom to make,” he notes, citing learning to box as an example: it carries some risk, but no one is seeking a ban.
Meticulous planning helped Hong Kong cope with Ragasa, the strongest storm worldwide this year which resulted in the maximum No.10 signal being hoisted for nearly 11 hours. While it brought our city to a standstill for two days – disrupting more than 1,000 flights, felling some 1,200 trees and causing around 100 injuries – lessons learned from Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 helped contain the damage. The government steering committee on extreme weather set up in Mangkhut’s wake did its job: the airport and schools were closed in good time, safety procedures kicked in and emergency measures were clearly communicated.
We must get used to this, apparently. Ragasa was swiftly followed by Typhoon Matmo which – although resulting in only a No.3 signal – was our 12th cyclone warning this year, the most since numbered signals were introduced in 1917. This city can expect fewer but stronger typhoons in the future, predicts Leung Wing-mo of the Hong Kong Meteorological Society. Citing the effects of climate change, he warns: “The ratio of super typhoons will be higher, with more of them. Naturally, the destruction will also be greater.”
Ah yes, global warming. Our city has already logged its fourth “very hot day” this month, the highest number of sweltering October days since records began in 1884. Like much of the world, 2024 was our hottest year ever. Heatwaves have become this city’s 10th leading cause of death, says HKU School of Public Health director David Bishai. Hot nights, as much as sizzling days, are a headache for our high-rise neighbourhoods. “Concrete and dense brick heat up like a pizza oven during the day; they stay hot all night long,” he explains.
A world away from our baking buildings and stewing streets is the remote island of Tung Ping Chau. Here, the biggest worry isn’t the damage caused by Ragasa – its debris-strewn hiking trail will be cleared within a fortnight – but the tourists flocking to it. The island, boasting volcanic landforms and pristine beaches, has become a major draw, chiefly among mainland Chinese. The Green Earth conservation group wants authorities to monitor the number of visitors, insisting that rural idylls should have their natural beauty preserved rather than equipping them with modern facilities. “Ecotourism is not like traditional tourism,” points out spokesman Rico Wong.
Amid these issues, how apt that my latest guest on Law & More should be Chandran Nair, founder and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow think tank. Chandran addresses climate change, sustainability, East-West geopolitics and rule of law – plus his new book about China – in a fascinating discussion, well worth 30-odd minutes of your time.
In closing, I should mention that our Stumblers hiking group continues to venture out – extreme weather permitting, of course – to explore our city’s stunning country parks. Last Saturday’s outing took us from Wanchai to Victoria Peak and down to Kennedy Town while enjoying, as always, the health benefits, camaraderie and conversation.
Perfect preparation for my visit to Anfield. After all, being a Stumbler means – ahem – you’ll never walk alone.
Until next time, everybody!
Colin Cohen
Senior Partner
Boase Cohen & Collins
