Typhoon Mangkhut

Super Typhoon Mangkhut directly hit Hong Kong on 16 September 2018. It was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones to hit the territory for decades, causing the need for the No. 10 Hurricane Signal to be raised. The typhoon caused extensive damages throughout the territory with the highest wind speeds being documented between 150-200 km/hr. There were more than 60,800 reports of fallen trees throughout Hong Kong and in Beas River Country Club and the Equestrian Centre alone we lost 130 tall, mature trees ranging in age up to 100 years old. It was a sad situation, and took months to recover fully from the devastation it caused. This fallen tree trunk, the tallest Eucalyptus in the Members Garden was the first tree on the property to fall, and the wind speed was so strong it snapped the trunk in half.

In remembrance of the many trees we lost that day, we have left some of the trunk and the decaying stump of this Eucalyptus where it fell, so that it can go back to nature and show us that even as the tree decays it continues to provide for the many animals in the garden. From the millipedes, termites, ants, beetles, snails, slugs and other bugs that call this stump home, there are predators such as long-tailed skinks, changeable lizards, magpie-robin birds, centipedes and more that feed on the creatures living on and in the wood, as well as the plant-life trying to take over the nutrient rich soil and moisture in the ground and in the wood itself.

Take a moment to observe this scene and see for yourself how nature can be impacted by such strong winds, and yet how nature always finds a way to bounce back again.

Click here to view the Fauna & Flora spotting guide