Hong Kong battles floods amid heaviest August rainfall since 1884

More than 350mm (13.8 inches) of rainfall was recorded – the highest regular rainfall for August successful implicit 140 years.

Hong Kong has been deed with record-breaking rains that person seen schools and courts shuttered, hospitals disrupted, and roads severely flooded.

More than 350mm (13.8 inches) of rainfall had drenched the territory by 2pm (06:00 GMT) connected Tuesday, the city’s upwind authorities said – the highest regular rainfall for August since 1884.

The storms travel deadly flash floods successful Southern China implicit the weekend, which near 5 dormant successful Guangdong state and prompted a large-scale hunt cognition involving much than 1,300 rescuers.

Videos showed h2o cascading down steep hillsides, breaking into whitewater streams arsenic they rushed down the galore staircases linking Hong Kong’s multitiered cityscape.

Weather authorities extended their highest “black” rainstorm informing until 5pm section clip (09:00 GMT).

This was the 4th specified informing issued successful conscionable 8 days, breaking the grounds for the astir predominant issuance of the city’s highest upwind alert wrong a azygous year, according to China’s authorities quality bureau Xinhua.

More than 9,600 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were recorded betwixt 5am (21:00 GMT) and noon, Hong Kong’s upwind observatory said.

The h2o had risen to ankle tallness extracurricular Hong Kong’s largest hospital, arsenic aesculapian authorities announced they would beryllium closing clinics crossed the metropolis owed to the downpour. Meanwhile, cars were reported submerged successful water.

The upwind work warned connected Tuesday day that a “persistent rainstorm volition origin superior roadworthy flooding and postulation congestion”.

The city’s Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan urged the nationalist to enactment alert and said employers should see flexible moving arrangements that prioritise worker safety.

Airports crossed the portion reported cancellation rates of astir 20 percent connected Tuesday, according to information from Flightmaster, portion velocity limits were lowered owed to mediocre visibility.

Extreme rainfall and catastrophic flooding, which meteorologists nexus to clime change, airs mounting challenges for some Hong Kong and mainland China. In summation to the deaths and injuries, specified floods tin displace thousands and endanger billions of dollars successful economical losses.

Hong Kong typically receives an yearly mean of 2,200mm (86.6 inches) of rainfall, much than fractional of which usually falls from June done August.