The Amber Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force for the second time today after Hong Kong has been hit with even more downpours (following on from heavy rain this morning, and a Red Rainstorm last night).
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) raised the signal at 4:20pm, meaning that heavy rains exceeding 30 millimeters an hour are currently falling or expected to fall generally over Hong Kong. In Kwai Tsing alone, over 70 millimeters of rainfall was recorded from 3:40pm to 4:50pm.
It’s the second Amber rainstorm of the day, after the first one (which lasted from 8:20am to 11:30am) saw northern areas like Sai Kung, Sha Tin and Tai Po flooded with over 70mm of rain by 8:50am, according to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO). At one point this morning, the rainfall in Tai Po reportedly reached 90mm, with a special announcement on flooding in the northern New Territories issued from 8:40am to 2:30pm.
Ting Kok Village in Tai Po experienced severe floods this morning, with rain water reaching knee level at one point. A total of around 60 people were evacuated from the area with the help of firefighters, according to RTHK.
One video of heavy floods in the Northern New Territories has been shared widely on social media and picked up by local news outlets:
Roads in Ma On Shan were flooded as well, as seen in pictures and footage posted on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/GoCar2HK/posts/2013065578979995
According to the HKO, an active southerly airstream is bringing showers and storms to the Guangdong coast as well as the northern parts of the South China Sea. There will be occasional showers and squally thunderstorms later on, with rain easing off over the course of the next few days.
At 3:15pm yesterday, the HKO raised the fourth Amber Rainstorm Warning Signal of the year (amazingly, we’re now on the sixth – go us), which was then elevated to a Red signal at around 9pm, meaning that rainfall exceeding 50 millimeters an hour was expected to fall over Hong Kong. Wan Chai, Stanley, Sai Kung, and Tseung Kwan O were all hit by floods, with the latter two districts receiving over 150 millimeters of rainfall, reports say.
Multiple vehicles got stuck in last night’s downpour. At around 8 pm, a taxi driver had to be rescued by police after his car suffered engine failure from the floods near Ta Kwu Ling, in the New Territories, HK01 reports. A landslip warning has been in force since 9pm last night.
