Hong Kong was hit on Friday by the worst rainfall on record since records began in 1884, which submerged streets and subway stations, forcing schools to close, less than a week after a super typhoon hit. .
In total, 600 mm of water (or 600 liters of water per square meter) fell in 24 hours, or a quarter of the average annual precipitation, said the Hong Kong Observatory, the city’s meteorological agency. .
The black alert, the highest level of alert, has been triggered and residents have been asked to stay at home. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the first place in Asia, remained closed.
“My whole neighborhood is isolated by the floods,” Olivia Lam, who lives in the eastern sector of the island, told AFP.
“One of the underground car parks in the area is completely flooded and around my residence, the water is up to my waist,” she added.
In the streets of the island’s financial center, the floods pushed abandoned cars and drained a multitude of debris torn up by the torrential rains.
The Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong, has also been affected since Thursday by torrential rains, the heaviest ever recorded since 1952, according to state media.
The region has seen extreme weather and record temperatures this summer, events that scientists say are further exacerbated by climate change.
The Hong Kong Observatory reported that up to 158.1 millimeters fell in one hour overnight, a level not recorded in 140 years.
“It’s like pouring the contents of four bathtubs into a bathtub: it’s overflowing,” summed up Eric Chan, number two in local government, during a press conference, referring to “a hundred-year flood”.
According to the authorities, “these extreme conditions” will continue until midnight (4:00 p.m. GMT). More than 80 people called hospital emergency services.
In addition to schools, authorities have closed cargo clearance services at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border. This metropolis has 17.7 million inhabitants and is the headquarters of many technology companies.
Hong Kong’s metro operator has partially suspended services on one of its lines after a station was flooded.
On social networks, Internet users posted images showing a subway not stopping at Wong Tai Sin station, whose platform was invaded by water.
Other stations are also affected.
On several roads, cars and buses were half submerged.
An AFP journalist saw landslides blocking a two-lane road in the Shau Kei Wan district.
“It’s a painful experience,” laments Eli, a commuter frustrated by his inability to reach his workplace in the south of Hong Kong Island.
Roads are also flooded with rain on the neighboring island of Lantau where rivers have burst their banks.
The Bloomberg Intelligence agency estimated the cost of the damage at least €93 million.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the torrential rains were caused by the “trough of low pressure associated with the rest of Haikui.”
Typhoon Haikui swept through Taiwan at the start of the week, injuring around a hundred people, uprooting trees and damaging roads, before heading towards southern China, downgraded to a storm.
Southern China was hit last weekend by two successive typhoons, Saola and Haikui.
Climate change has increased the intensity of tropical storms, with more rain and stronger gusts leading to flash flooding and coastal damage, experts say.
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09/08/2023 12:15:59 – Hong Kong (AFP) – © 2023 AFP