Hong Kong  - Three people were injured and a double-decker bus was hit by a falling tree as tropical storm Molave barrelled past Hong Kong early Sunday.

The territory went on alert early Sunday morning as the storm came within 40 kilometres, bringing high winds and torrential rain.

The severe storm signal was raised for three hours from 1:30 am as Molave came neared the former British colony.

Ferry services and some bus services were suspended and up to 150 mm of rain fell over the territory as the storm passed by. All public transport services were back to normal Sunday morning.

The storm, which had injured several people in Taiwan before sweeping past Hong Kong, made landfall in southern China Sunday morning, packing winds of over 100 km per hour at its centre. (dpa)