Report on Severe Typhoon Kajiki(2513)

Severe Typhoon Kajiki (2513)
22 to 27 August 2025

Kajiki was the seventh tropical cyclone affecting Hong Kong in 2025.

Kajiki formed as a tropical depression over the seas east of Luzon about 320 km east-northeast of Manila in the small hours of 22 August, then moved westwards to west-northwestwards across Luzon, and entered the central part of the South China Sea. During its passage across the central part of the South China Sea on 23 – 24 August, Kajiki rapidly intensified from a tropical depression into a severe typhoon and attained its peak intensity over the seas south of Hainan Island on the evening of 24 August, with an estimated maximum sustained wind of 165 km/h near its centre. Kajiki made landfall over the northern part of Vietnam on the evening of the next day, and weakened rapidly. Kajiki finally degenerated into an area of low pressure over Lao PDR in the small hours of 27 August.

According to press reports, under the combined effect of Kajiki and the southwest monsoon, there were torrential rain and squalls over the central and northern parts of the Philippines. There were over 110 000 people affected and more than 60 houses damaged. Kajiki also brought torrential rain and squalls to Hainan, Guangxi and Guangdong, with a 24-hour rainfall of 508.8 millimetres recorded over Sansha of Hainan. There was one dead or missing, and over 200 000 people affected in Hainan and Guangxi. During passage of Kajiki over the central and northern parts of Vietnam, it triggered river flooding and landslides over many places, causing at least six deaths, two missing, 47 injuries and over 1.5 million people affected. More than 30 000 houses and over 120 000 hectares of crops were damaged. The torrential rain associated with Kajiki and its remnant also caused flooding and landslides in Lao PDR, Thailand, and Myanmar. There were eight deaths, three missing and at least four injuries in Thailand, whereas there were at least two deaths and 15 injuries in Myanmar.

The Standby Signal No. 1 was issued at 9:40 p.m. on 22 August, when Kajiki was about 800 km southeast of Hong Kong. Local winds were moderate to fresh easterlies the next day, occasionally reaching strong force over parts of the territory. Kajiki came closest to Hong Kong at around 8 p.m. on 23 August, skirting past about 530 km south of the territory. With Kajiki departing from Hong Kong, it no longer posed a threat to Hong Kong and all tropical cyclone warning signals were cancelled at 12:10 p.m. on 24 August. However, under the combined effect of the ridge of high pressure over southeastern China and Kajiki, strong easterly winds were still affecting offshore and high ground. The Strong Monsoon Signal was issued thereafter and lasted till 7:45 p.m. that night.

Kajiki did not cause any significant damage when it affected Hong Kong. At the Observatory Headquarters, the lowest instantaneous mean sea-level pressure of 1006.6 hPa was recorded at 6:08 p.m. on 23 August. Under the influence of Kajiki, a maximum sea level of 2.97 m (above chart datum) and a maximum storm surge of 0.23 m (above astronomical tide) were recorded at Tsim Bei Tsui.

Under the influence of an anticyclone aloft, the outer rainbands of Kajiki weakened when approaching the coast of Guangdong. Locally, apart from a few showers and squally thunderstorms on the night of 23 August, the weather was generally fine on 22 – 24 August.