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Shoppers clear supermarket shelves and observatory warns of ‘severe threat’ as Severe Typhoon Usagi closes in on Hong Kong tonightHong Kong is bracing for what could be the most powerful typhoon to hit the city in more than three decades.mini storageAs Severe Typhoon Usagi – packing sustained winds of 173km/h with gusts up to 209km/h – bore down on the city, the observatory issued a “severe threat’’ warning. It hoisted the No 3 typhoon signal at 11.40pm yesterday and warned people in low-lying areas to take special precautions.Technicians at the Daya Bay nuclear power plant in Guangdong took steps to ensure the installation was secure, with contingency plans in place in case of the plant was damaged.Observatory senior scientific officer Mok Hing-yim warned of “astronomically” high tides and a storm surge.Usagi will be closest to Hong Kong this evening. Shoppers cleared supermarket shelves of food as word spread that it could deliver a direct hit to the city.The storm lashed the east and south coasts of Taiwan as it passed between the island and the Philippines’ Batanes island chain yesterday. While the storm had weakened from super typhoon status, two people were killed and two others were missing when a boat capsized in rough waters off the northeast Philippines.“This is the strongest typhoon to hit Batanes in 25 years,” Dina Abad, congresswoman for tself storagee Batanes islands, said. “The howling winds began at midnight and they churned up to eight-metre waves that damaged the port and sank moored fishing boats.”In Taiwan, more than 3,000 people were evacuated and soldiers were deployed into potential disaster zones as more than 520mm of rain was dumped on the eastern and southern coasts in a 20-hour period. Mudslide warnings were issued for seven counties. Taiwan cancelled 82 domestic and international flights yesterday, with 33 delayed.In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair cancelled all flights into and out of the city from 6pm today. China Airlines cancelled 26 flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan and Indonesia. Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express also cancelled at least six flights.Mok said that if the typhoon signal No 8 was issued, Usagi would be the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong since Typhoon Hope in 1979, which killed 12 people and injured 260.At 1am today, Usagi was about 510 kilometres east-southeast of Hong Kong. It was forecast to move west-northwest at about 18km/h, closing in on the Pearl River Estuary later today. Winds are expected to strengthen significantly, with rough seas today and tomorrow.The maximum sustained winds would weaken to 165km/h as it approached Hong Kong before making landfall overnight.Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Associated Press迷你倉