Heavy rain and strong winds hit Hong Kong today, triggering a landslide in Sai Kung and causing classes to be canceled for some students.
The Fire Services Department said the landslide took place at Pak Tam Au along Pak Tam Road at 12:35pm. It urged residents to avoid going to nearby areas.
“The Fire Services Department is conducting a search and rescue operation. Residents are advised to avoid going to areas affected by the landslide,” the department said in a Facebook post in the late afternoon.
As of 4:28pm, the Transport Department said on its website that due to the landslide, all lanes of Pak Tam Road (both bounds) near Pak Tam Au are still being closed to all traffic.
It added that KMB bus route 94 has been diverted.
According to this photo taken by a Facebook user at 1:10pm, there was considerable damage at the site.
Earlier in the day, the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued a red rainstorm warning signal, which was in force for 5.5 hours.
That meant that for the time period, heavy rain had fallen or was expected to fall generally over Hong Kong, exceeding 50 millimeters in an hour.
The alert was lowered to an amber rainstorm warning signal at 4:15pm, which was eventually canceled at 5:15pm.
“Though the rainstorm warning has been cancelled, people should stay alert to the danger that may be brought about by river flooding,” said the forecaster.
With the red rainstorm warning signal in force in the morning, the Education Bureau announced earlier in the day that classes at all PM schools had been suspended.
But since students at AM and whole-day schools were already having lessons, the bureau said they should continue to remain in school until the end of school hours.
“They should ensure that conditions are safe before allowing students to return home,” said the bureau.
Heavy rains can be observed across the city, including in Sha Tin as shown by this video..
The observatory said that areas of thundery showers associated with the trough of low pressure continue to affect the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary.
“Locally, more than 70 millimeters of rainfall were recorded over many places in the afternoon, and rainfall even exceeded 100 millimeters over Lantau Island and New Territories East,” it added.
A waterspout was also reported at the outlying island of Cheung Chau at around 10:30am.
A video on the internet, which is believed to be of the waterspout, shows the rotating wind making its way across the sea floor.
The observatory said cloudy to overcast with heavy showers and squally thunderstorms is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
Temperatures will range between 25 and 28 degrees tomorrow, while there will be moderate to fresh south to southwesterly winds.
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