BEIJING 2008: Typhoon Nuri stops horses and riders form leaving Hong Kong

Hong Kong issued its strongest storm warning in five years on Friday as Typhoon Nuri brought gale-force winds and heavy rains, halting trade on the financial markets and shutting down most of the city.

Flights were delayed, schools and most offices closed and bus and ferry services suspended, as meteorologists warned that the eye of the storm could hit the southern Chinese territory later in the day.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued the level-nine storm signal for the first time since 2003, signifying winds would intensify, and warned people not to venture outdoors. It said it may strengthen the signal to ten later on Friday.

“Nuri will be rather close to Hong Kong on Friday afternoon and Friday night with a chance of a direct hit,” a spokesperson for the observatory said.

“It may be necessary to issue higher signals this afternoon.”

The level-ten signal is the observatory's highest storm warning, indicating hurricane-force winds with sustained speeds of at least 118 kilometres an hour, and gusts of more than 220 kilometres per hour.

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific and its sister company Dragonair announced that all flights would be cancelled for 12 hours starting at 2.00pm.

The Airport Authority said planes were still leaving the territory, but some visitors were left stranded after their flights were cancelled.

Organisers of the Olympic equestrian events staged in the city breathed a sigh of relief, as the competition ended Thursday with the show-jumping final.

“We are fortunate that the competition finished before Typhoon Nuri hit Hong Kong,” a spokeswoman for the Equestrian Company, which organised the competition, said.

But some competitors and horses due to fly out after the end of the competition were left stranded.

The British and Australian teams said some of their riders scheduled to leave on Friday had their flights cancelled.

A Danish team spokesperson said most of the riders had left for Europe early on Friday but three dressage horses and their grooms were stuck after their flights were cancelled.

August is Hong Kong's hottest month and typhoons can often force the entire city to close down.

Nuri is the name of a blue-crowned parakeet in Malaysia, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.