Hikers trapped and roads flooded in Hong Kong as torrential downpour almost triggers black rainstorm alert, with more rain expected
- Observatory downgrades rainstorm warning from red to amber after earlier saying highest black rainstorm alert might be issued
- Police say that at one point 15 hikers trapped along trails in Sai Kung
Hong Kong took a weather roller-coaster ride on Saturday, with the Observatory warning of a possible black rainstorm alert, but the forecaster eventually lowered its red warning to amber within hours as thunderstorms and flooding left hikers stranded, schools suspended, traffic disrupted and businesses closed.
Areas in the eastern part of Hong Kong – such as Sai Kung, Tseung Kwan O and Kwun Tong – suffered the most and authorities set up nine shelters across the city and deployed 12 care teams to mitigate the effects of the rainstorm.
A total of 16 floods were confirmed in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung and Kwun Tong, with contingency teams deployed to handle the cases. They were cleared by about 7.30pm.
A black rainstorm warning means very heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall, exceeding 70mm in an hour, and is likely to continue.
The city last issued a black rainstorm warning on October 9, 2023, with the signal only dropping 6½ hours later.
The Transport Department was forced to close seven roads in Sai Kung district and part of the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel at one stage on Saturday.
The Observatory issued the first red rainstorm warning of the year at 8.55am, upgrading an amber signal sent out at 7.40am as Tseung Kwan O and Clear Water Bay in Sai Kung district recorded more than 140mm of rainfall in the interval.
With the intense thundery rainfall over the Pearl River Delta gradually moving eastward, the Observatory said at 11.36am that a black rainstorm warning could be issued.
In the same district, hundreds of private vehicles were left submerged in water after a large public car park near Lohas Park flooded. Some motorists at the scene were forced to hire tow trucks to retrieve their vehicles.
Students from the Hong Kong Science and Technology University wrote on social media in the morning that they were having trouble getting to campus as some trunk roads were closed.
Flooding also hit restaurants and stores at some shopping malls in Tseung Kwan O, with the water reaching several of the venues’ connecting bridges and causing some outlets to close temporarily.
Retailer Aeon at TKO Plaza put out a notice that said: “Due to rainy weather, our department store section will be closed until further notice. The supermarket will remain open for business”.
Police said that at one point 15 hikers were trapped along trails in Sai Kung. Officers located four of them on section two of the MacLehose Trail after heavy rain forced the group to call off their trek at 11.25am. None of them were injured.
Another hiking group of four adults and seven children, aged eight to 11, also reported becoming trapped along the High Island Reservoir East Dam at 11.26am. They were forced to shelter in a public toilet until police arrived. They were unhurt.
In Hang Hau’s Fat Tau Chau Village, residents were seen using towels in a bid to prevent floodwater mixed with mud and sand from inundating their homes.
A temple in the area was also flooded, with dozens of koi fish kept in the site’s well for feng shui purposes washed away, despite villagers’ efforts to save them.
On Cheung Chau, scaffolding used for the bun tower scrambling festival collapsed at around 5pm on Saturday, according to Cheung Chau Bun Festival committee chairman Yung Chi-ming.
“I have been the chairman of the organising committee for around 20 years. We have never experienced something like this,” Yung said, noting that the cause of the collapse was likely due to heavy winds.
He noted that the organising committee would arrange for the scaffolding to be disassembled on Sunday, with the rebuilding process set to be completed before festivities were set to take place on May 15.
Police and firefighters also received more than 20 flooding reports and the Drainage Services Department deployed more than 70 emergency response teams to badly hit locations.
“Under the influence of an upper air disturbance, thundery showers continue to develop over the territory … It is expected that severe rainstorms will continue to affect some areas in the eastern part of the territory,” the Observatory said. “Members of the public should stay on high alert.”
Home affairs minister Alice Mak Mei-keun on Saturday said 12 care teams had been deployed and nine shelters opened in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, Yau Tsim Mong district, Kowloon City, Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung.
“These measures were put in place in response to the red rainstorm warning signal, with care team members on duty at shelters, as well as monitoring the floods, who can then report to district officers to enable swift action from the relevant government departments,” Mak said.
Mainland China is also bracing for bad weather as tens of millions of tourists began to travel towards the end of the five-day public holiday.
The China National Meteorological Centre issued a yellow rainstorm warning at 10am on Saturday that covered provinces across the south, which is expected to be lifted on Sunday.
The yellow rainstorm warning is the second in a four-tier warning system.
The centre warned that heavy rainfall of 100 to 180mm could hit northern Guangdong and western and southern Jiangxi provinces, with potential peak rainfall of more than 80mm per hour in the heaviest hit regions.
The centre also warned of thunderstorms across the south, as well as the possibility of hail hitting parts of Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces.
Traffic on major mainland highways and trunk roads remained high during the third day of the holidays.
As traffic started to hit a peak on Saturday and people returned home, the Traffic Management Bureau warned motorists to drive carefully if they encountered heavy rainfall and to keep an eye on weather forecasts, CCTV reported.
Additional reporting by Victoria Bela and Harvey Kong
