Hong Kong’s heaviest rain in at least 140 years floods city streets, metro

09/08/2023

Hong Kong, Sept. 8: The Asian financial hub of Hong Kong was drenched on Friday by the heaviest rain since records began 140 years ago, killing one person and injuring 83, media reported, as unusually wet weather caused by typhoons brought more disruption to southern China.

Videos showed cascades of water surging down steep hillsides in the former British colony, flooding waist-deep in narrow streets, and inundating malls, metro stations and tunnels.

The extreme weather also brought chaos to the nearby Chinese city of Shenzhen, a tech hub of more than 17.7 million people, with business and transport links across the economically important Pearl River Delta severely hit.

"I've never seen scenes like this before. Even during previous typhoons, it was never this severe. It's quite terrifying," said Hong Kong assistant nurse Connie Cheung, 65.

The torrential rain was brought by Haikui, a typhoon that made landfall in the Chinese province of Fujian on Tuesday. Although it weakened to a tropical depression its slow-moving clouds have dumped huge volumes of precipitation on areas still soaked by rain from a super typhoon a week earlier.

Hong Kong's weather bureau issued its highest "black" rainstorm warning, and said more than 20 centimeters of rain was recorded on Hong Kong's main island, the Kowloon district and the northeastern part of the city's New Territories from late on Thursday.

The city's leader, John Lee, said he was very concerned about the severe flooding in most parts of the territory and had instructed all departments to respond with "all-out efforts."

Hong Kong authorities shut schools on Friday and told workers to stay at home. The city's stock exchange was also shuttered.

Eric Chan, secretary for administration, said the city's transport network was "severely disrupted" and an "extreme conditions situation" would be extended to midnight on Friday.

MTR Corp, which operates the city's rail network, said at least one line was shut while others were operating with delays. One video clip showed metro workers wading waist-deep in a station.

Some roads were partly washed, including a main route to the city's southern beaches. A car was swallowed up by a meters wide pothole when one section of road collapsed, social media pictures showed.

Rescue workers took one person to hospital who was dead on arrival, a television news channel reported.

The city's cross-harbor tunnel, one of main arteries connecting Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, was inundated and a shopping mall in the Chai Wan district was half-submerged.

Some passenger and cargo clearance operations at two border points between Hong Kong and Shenzhen were suspended due to flooding.

Macau ferry operators in Hong Kong said several sailings would be suspended to the gambling hub.

More than 100 pigs in an area near the border with Shenzhen drowned in a flood, media reported.-Agencies

Related News

India successfully test-fires surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5

New Delhi, Oct. 28: In a major boost to its military might, India on Wednesday successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5 that can strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy, officials said. The test-firing was carried around 7:50 PM from APJ Abdul…

World needs $5 trillion in annual climate finance by 2030 for rapid action

Climate finance needs to rise sharply to 5 trillion U.S. dollars a year globally by 2030 to fund measures to fight climate change, researchers said on Thursday warning that transformation across economies is too slow to meet international temperature goals. From transport to agriculture and electricity, progress is lagging in…

Airstrike in Ethiopia’s Tigray kills 10, including children

Nairobi, Oct. 29: Children were among 10 people killed when an Ethiopian military airstrike hit the capital of the country’s Tigray region on Thursday, a doctor said. It was the deadliest of a new round of airstrikes that began last week as the year-long war intensifies. International calls for a cease-fire…

Modi holds extensive discussions with top EU leaders on trade, Covid-19, global issues

Rome, Oct. 29: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held wide-ranging talks with the top leaders of the European Union here during which the two sides discussed deepening the India-EU friendship, particularly in areas such as trade, commerce, culture and the environment. Prime Minister Modi, who arrived here earlier…

Make India a partner in economic recovery: Indian PM Modi at G-20 summit

Rome, Oct. 30: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon G-20 countries to make India their partner in economic recovery and resilient global supply chains. Speaking at the G-20 Summit’s inaugural session on economy and Covid in Rome on Saturday, he touched on India’s economic reforms and its willingness to…

Trump wants call logs, aide’s notes hidden from January 6 panel

Washington, Oct. 31: Former President Donald Trump is trying to block documents including call logs, drafts of remarks and speeches and handwritten notes from his chief of staff relating to the January 6 Capitol insurrection from being released to the committee investigating the riot, the National Archives revealed in a…

Video

Find Us on Facebook

From Social

Tehran, June 21: As India presses ahead with Operation Sindhu to evacuate its citizens from Iran amid intensifying hostilities in the Middle East, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has announced that, upon formal requests from the governments of Nepal and Sri…

India to evacuate Nepalese, Sri Lankan nationals from Iran amid escalating tensions    

Kathmandu, Nov. 24: The joint training exercise "SURYA KIRAN-XVII" of Nepali Army and Indian Army is starting from 24 November 2023 in Pithoragarh, India. The Nepalese army team that will participate in the exercise, which will be attended by the…

Nepal-India Joint Military Training Excerise Surya Kiran Begin Today    

New Delhi, May 5: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the guest of honour for this year’s Bastille Day Parade in Paris scheduled to take place on July 14.  In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of…

Indian PM Modi to attend Bastille Day Parade in Paris as guest of honour on July 14