HKFP Lens: Historic rains leave Hong Kong reeling, as city hit by second extreme weather event in a week
Unlike the previous week, when residents were given advance warning ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Saola, the deluge that began on Thursday night took many by surprise.
Hong Kong was bought to a standstill on Friday after more than 600 millimetres of rain, or about a quarter of the city’s annual average rainfall, fell within a 24-hour period.
Flooding at Temple Mall in Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong, on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
It marked the second extreme weather event to hit Hong Kong within a week, but unlike the previous Friday, when residents were given advance warning ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Saola, the deluge that began on Thursday night took many by surprise.
A landslide in Shau Kei Wan on Sept. 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
This picture shows a vehicle in a collapsed section of road in Hong Kong on September 8, 2023. Photo: AFP.
Public transport and facilities were affected as the government raised its “extreme conditions” warning for the first time, although there was some confusion about what that meant for residents.
Commuters on the MTR on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hourly rainfall of 158.1 millimetres was recorded by the Observatory in the hour after the Black rainstorm warning signal was raised at 11 pm on Thursday, the highest since records began in 1884. The warning remained in place until 3.40 pm on Friday.
Flooding in Wong Tai Sin on September 8, 2023, after Hong Kong was hit by a quarter of its annual average rainfall within 24 hours. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A carpark in Chai Wan inundated with floodwaters during the Black rainstorm signal on Sept. 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A damaged section of road near Shau Kei Wan on September 8, 2023, after Hong Kong was battered by record-breaking rainfall. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Workers clear up Wong Tai Sin MTR station on September 8, 2023, after Hong Kong was hit by record-breaking rainfall. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Fire services officers in Wong Tai Sin on September 8, 2023, after Hong Kong was hit by record-breaking rainfall. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A carpark in Chai Wan inundated with floodwaters during the Black rainstorm signal on Sept. 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Workers clear debris from the roads in Wong Tai Sin on September 8, 2023, after the area was hit by record-breaking rainfall. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A submerged basketball court in Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong, on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Vehicles wading through floodwaters in Tai Wai on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Sandbags are placed outside the entrance to a building in Chai Wan, Hong Kong, on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A car stranded in floodwaters on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A man with an umbrella walks away from a landslide on Yiu Hong Road, near Shau Kei Wan, in Hong Kong, on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A police officer walks on a flooded street on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Commuters wait for a train under an “extreme conditions” warning on September 8, 2023, after Hong Kong was hit by record-breaking rainfall. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Men empty buckets of water after Hong Kong was hit by heavy rains, on September 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A car on a flooded street on Sept. 8, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
