Hong Kong issues all 3 rainstorm warnings in a day as downpours cause disruptions

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong issued all three rainstorm warnings within a single day, as downpours flooded the New Territories, disrupted flights and forced class suspensions. The Hong Kong Observatory reissued the black rainstorm warning, the highest of a three-tier system, at 6.35pm, following earlier amber and red signals amid an active southerly airstream over coastal Guangdong. It was the third time the forecaster had issued the black rainstorm warning within a month. The first this year was on June 8 and lasted about an hour, while the other two were issued on Thursday. The latest was accompanied by a hail warning. The downpours forced the temporary closure of the Man Kam To border control point, with Shenzhen authorities suspending passenger and cargo clearance services after some facilities were flooded. By 4pm, heavy rain had inundated 13 locations across the New Territories, including Sha Tin, Fan Kam Road, Lau Fau Shan and parts of Yuen Long, according to the Drainage Services Department. Eight cases had been cleared, with emergency teams deploying drainage robots, known as “water-pumping dragons”, in Tuen Mun Court, San Tin and six other sites to speed up operations. The department activated its Emergency Control Centre at 12.10pm and deployed more than 110 emergency response teams, with the northern New Territories and Tuen Mun among the hardest-hit areas. Videos circulating on social media show buses and private vehicles stranded in Kam Tin, Yuen Long and Sheung Shui, while farmland near Sheung Shui was inundated. In one clip near a construction site, a man is seen wading through waist deep water after getting out of a black private car with its rear window open. Water levels in a large nullah in Yuen Long rose so quickly that they nearly reached road level. Yuen Long resident Sunny Ng complained about the heavy rain. “It’s outrageous. The whole house is covered in mould,” he said. “It ruined all activities.” Homemaker Jessica Lam picked up her daughter early from school due to the black rainstorm warning and cancelled a planned company visit. She said she would still proceed with her trip to Macau starting Thursday night for the coming long holiday. “Rainfall is very hard to predict. The amber rainstorm warning has little impact on people’s daily lives,” she said. “For a black rainstorm warning, it would be best to give at least one hour’s notice so people can arrange to pick up their children from school.” According to the Hong Kong Airport Authority’s website, at least five inbound flights have been diverted to nearby airports, with Air China flight CA101 from Beijing being diverted to Guangzhou and Loong Airlines flight GJ8007 from Hangzhou to Haikou. At least two inbound flights have been marked as delayed, including HK Express flight UO131 from Kaohsiung and Cathay Pacific flight CX937 from Wuhan. For departures, at least three flights have been delayed, including Air China flights CA102 and CA112 to Beijing, and China Eastern Airlines flight MU508 to Shanghai. Afternoon and night classes were also disrupted. “Students attending afternoon session schools do not need to go to school today. Schools should keep their premises open and implement contingency measures to look after students who arrive,” the Education Bureau said. It added that schools already in session should continue until the end of the school day and ensure conditions were safe before allowing students to return home. Despite the weather, some students were unfazed. “Since it’s already exam period, we were returning home early anyway, so the black rainstorm warning did not really affect us,” said Hailey Hui, a Form Two student from a Quarry Bay school who went shopping in Causeway Bay with friends after her exam. Some MTR exits were closed at one stage as a precaution against flooding due to adverse weather, including Exit A2 at Sham Shui Po, A1 at Choi Hung, B3 at Wong Tai Sin and Exit A at Quarry Bay. Citybus adjusted services on several routes, including enhancing Route B7 between Heung Yuen Wai Control Point and Fanling MTR station following the suspension of minibus services. It also suspended four routes and adjusted operating hours for another four. KMB suspended its tour routes and temporarily diverted several others due to serious flooding in multiple locations in the North District, including routes 76K, 77K and 79K. Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department urged the public to avoid visiting country parks. Those already in country parks should, depending on conditions, leave immediately or seek shelter in a safe place, the department said. The Social Welfare Department said all child care centres, Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project services, after-school care programmes for pre-primary and primary schoolchildren, elderly service centres, and day rehabilitation units would remain open during normal operating hours to provide care. The forecaster said sunny intervals were likely to return on Friday afternoon despite strong winds and a few showers, before conditions turned very hot over the weekend and into early next week. “The weather will be very hot and generally fine over southern China from early to midweek next week,” the Observatory said. “A southerly airstream is expected to bring a few showers to the coast of Guangdong later in the week.” Friday marks the Tuen Ng Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, giving residents a three-day weekend through Sunday. Additional reporting by Kate Chan and Edith Lin