Parents Face Backlash For Carrying Toddlers In Typhoon Wipha, Clicking Pictures

A couple in Hong Kong has gone viral after they carried their two young children to experience the storm when Typhoon Wipha impacted the city on Sunday (Jul 20). According to a report in The Standard, the toddlers clung to the shoulders of their parents anxiously as the typhoon with the highest-level No 10 signal battered the region.

The father, wearing a black shirt, took a photo of the child with his mobile phone. Another child, who was held by his mother, hugged his mother tightly the whole time, with his head covered by the hoodie without raising his head.

As the video went viral, social media platforms demanded action against the parents for being negligent and putting the lives of the children in jeopardy, as per a report in Ohpama.

"Can we sue them for child abuse?" wrote one user, while another added: "Even adults who watch it feel it is very dangerous, not to mention these two children are so young. These people are not worthy of being parents!"

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Typhoon Wipha

Typhoon Wipha made landfall in Hong Kong on Sunday, becoming the fifth typhoon to trigger the highest-level No 10 signal in the past two decades. As the storm passed Hong Kong, more than 110 mm of rain fell within three hours, and maximum wind gusts exceeded 167 kph at some points.

"While Wipha, as a typhoon, was not as strong as Saola in 2023, which became a super typhoon when it came close to Hong Kong, the strength of their periphery winds was in fact similar," Hong Kong Observatory senior scientific officer Lee Shuk-ming was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong is believed to have suffered economic losses of as much as $255 million on Sunday alone, based on gross domestic product statistics.

In a statement, the Hong Kong government informed that 26 people sought treatment in public hospitals during the typhoon, while 253 flocked to its shelters, and 471 fallen trees were reported.

After battering Hong Kong, the typhoon moved westward and made landfall on the coast of Taishan city in Guangdong, subsequently weakening to a severe tropical storm.