Heaviest rainfall in the century floods Hong Kong & southern China

The heaviest rain in Hong Kong since records began 140 years ago drenched the financial hub of Asia on Friday. As per reports by state media, unusual weather caused by typhoons brought disaster to southern China, killing two people and injuring more than 140. Hong Kong police confirmed that two bodies were found floating in the water in different parts of the city.

The Hong Kong government confirmed in the official statement that, amid the heavy rainfall, 144 residents aged between eight and 94 years old were injured.

Again, speechless…… #HongKong #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis pic.twitter.com/y9ble9GJz1

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) September 8, 2023

Typhoon Haikui brought heavy rainfall which made landfall in the Chinese province of Fujian on Tuesday. The slow-moving clouds of this super typhoon, which later weakened to a tropical depression, dumped enormous amounts of precipitation on areas that were still soaked from a super typhoon a week earlier.

‘Black’ warning

Earlier, Hong Kong’s weather bureau issued the highest “black” rainstorm warning on Friday. The northeastern region of the city’s new territories, the Kowloon neighborhood, and Hong Kong’s main island all received more than 200 mm of rain beginning late on Thursday, according to the report.

Several videos on social media displayed waist-high flooding at the metro stop for the well-known Wong Tai Sin Temple location, and the station was skipped by services out of safety. Due to flooding and mudslides that piled up in the city, some roadways collapsed and were blocked with stones of various sizes.

Heaviest rain since 1952

Heavy rain has also drenched southern China, with the city of Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, reporting its heaviest showers since records began in 1952.

The Guangdong province as a whole has suspended hundreds of flights, and local authorities have advised residents in low-lying areas to think about leaving. The densely populated coastal regions of southern China are home to tens of millions of people. Shenzhen also shut down all of its schools and some of its offices, and many areas of the neighboring Guangdong province experienced similar disruptions.

Shenzhen released water from its reservoirs on Thursday night after sending a notice to Hong Kong; this action prompted online speculation among Hong Kong residents about whether this contributed to the flooding in their city.

Geography test: Last night, due to the flood discharge in Shenzhen, a flood occurred in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
It is said that this is the heaviest rainfall in Hong Kong since 1884.😲 pic.twitter.com/bfiPK828hH

— Sharing Travel (@TripInChina) September 8, 2023

Chris Tang, the head of security in Hong Kong, however, said that both Shenzhen and Hong Kong were safe from harm and that the discharge had no bearing on the city’s flooding on Friday.