Typhoon Wipha was the first storm since 2023 to receive a No. 10 hurricane warning, the maximum rating on Hong Kong's warning system, this past weekend. Fortunately, the meteorological event did not live up to expectations for the southern coast of China.
In the city of Taishan, Guangdong Province, just southwest of Macau, the Asian casino capital, Wipha, a common female name in Thailand that means "splendor, radiance," or brilliance, made landing.
As it got closer to land, the Hong Kong Observatory classified it as a No. 10 typhoon, a designation only given to the most deadly cyclones. However, Wipha's sustained winds reached 108 kph (67 mph), which is the equivalent of a tropical storm, when the tropical cyclone made its way to the Pearl River Delta in the South China Sea. It was degraded to a severe tropical storm very rapidly.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, typhoons and hurricanes are the same weather phenomenon. Member countries of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) select the names of typhoons in the region.
Getting through the typhoon
Macau casinos were told to stay open in order to prevent guests from fleeing the resort grounds ahead of what weather forecasters believed could turn into a disastrous situation.
People inside the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) were instructed to seek refuge while Macau's border gates were closed. Furthermore, Macau's numerous multibillion-dollar entertainment venues are more structurally solid and safer than the city's structures.
Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, or DICJ (an acronym for the agency's Portuguese form, Direcção de Inspecção e Coordenação de Jogos), issued the order to remain open and functional.
"In order to protect the safety of the staff and guests in the casino and to prevent the risk of staff and guests gathering in the surrounding outdoor areas or attempting to travel due to the closure of the casino, the gaming premises and venues will be maintained in proper condition during the typhoon period, and the casino will make arrangements for the staff and guests to take a rest in the event of a typhoon,” a statement from the gaming regulatory said.
Tens of thousands of people who work in casino resorts reside outside the city's boundaries.
“The DICJ will continue to coordinate with the gaming companies to ensure that the gaming premises and venues are properly protected against typhoons and that the rights of employees are protected in accordance with the law, in particular, the right to take rest and to be compensated accordingly,” the statement added.
The City Avoids Casualties
Wipha spared both Macau and Hong Kong, as no one was killed by the tropical storm. According to first reports on Monday morning, neither the Cotai Strip nor the entire peninsula appeared to have sustained any serious damage.
Nevertheless, Wipha hurt the economy by causing the cancellation of around 200 flights at Macau International Airport and numerous trips to the gaming town. That will probably make the city's July gaming results less favorable.
The richest casino sector in the world, Macau's, is gradually returning to its pre-COVID-19 state. The city experienced year-over-year increase for the fifth consecutive month in June.
Nevertheless, the $14.7 billion in gross gaming income through June 2025 only accounts for 79.4% of the $18.5 billion earned by the six casino operators in the same time frame in 2019.