The extended closure has stirred up a storm among athletes and nearby residents in Hong Kong Island’s northeastern corner, with many concerned that Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground remains vulnerable as this year’s typhoon season nears.

The storm flooded the sports ground, and severely damaged its power supply, roof, track, infield and grass pitch.

Alan Cheng, a member of a running club that trains at the stadium, said he had to go to Tai Koo for training.

“I hope they can repair the stadium quickly,” he said. “I am worried because I heard the repair work will last until July or August and that is when the typhoons might hit Hong Kong again.”

Cheng said he wished authorities would consider partially reopening the stadium if it is safe, as the running track had been fixed, while the stands were still being repaired.

A Siu Sai Wan resident who wished to be known by her surname So said residents had been inconvenienced by the closure.

“There are not many places to exercise in Siu Sai Wan. A lot of us in our 50s and 60s, who are retirees or housewives, like to go to the stadium to walk or run as it is more spacious there,” she said.

A track-and-field representative for a school in the nearby Chai Wan area, who wished to be known as Kwok, was worried he might struggle in his next competition.

He now uses a straight 100-metre track outside the stadium, which is designed for jogging.

“Sometimes we need to run 200 metres or 300 metres for our competition, so this 100-metre track is not so suitable and there are many people walking on this track too,” he said.

But Kwok, who had won a bronze medal at an interschool competition before, said he had to make do with what was available at the stadium, because other similar facilities were too far away.

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A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department said the sports ground was closed during the repairs because of public safety. He added that improvements to the roof – originally scheduled for the first quarter of this year – were brought forward to December 2018 to happen at the same time as the wider repairs.

The ground was expected to reopen in mid-2019, he said, without giving a specific date. The closure had affected 73 events, including school athletic meets and training activities, he added.

Opened in December 1996, Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground has international-standard athletics facilities and a standard grass pitch suitable for football, rugby and archery.

With a capacity of 11,981, the stadium is also one of only three in Hong Kong that can host Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

The sports ground was forced to close for 19 days in August and September 2017 for repairs after another No. 10 signal typhoon, Hato, hit Hong Kong and flooded the venue.

The Observatory said in March it expected four to seven typhoons to come within 500km of the city this year and the storms could arrive in June or after.

The spokesman said the department planned to build a sturdy boundary wall outside the stadium’s existing perimeter fence, to guard against floods.

Ngai Hok-yan, a veteran structural and geotechnical engineer, noted that – unlike Victoria Harbour – Siu Sai Wan does not have mountains to protect it from high winds. As such, the area tends to be affected by typhoons, he added.

Ngai noted that flood barriers were a possible solution for the stadium, but added that their effect on air circulation, which might not be good for the pitch, should be taken into consideration.

A maritime expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said the technology existed to have the barriers embedded in the ground and deployed when necessary, or there was the option of concrete planks or steel plates that can be manually fixed before a storm.