In 24 hours, roughly a quarter of all the rainfall expected for a year had fallen on Hong Kong, acting director of the Hong Kong Observatory Lee Lap-shun said at a news conference Friday.
As the rains continued to fall, the Hong Kong city government announced Friday afternoon that the extreme weather warning would remain in effect until at least midnight.
Earlier, it said schools would be closed all day, and only essential employees should report to work. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange canceled trading, including the after-hours session, for the entire day.
A total of 110 people had been hospitalized, four in critical condition, as of Friday afternoon, according to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.
Officials warned people against going outside. Public safety was the government’s foremost concern, said Chan Kwok-ki, Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration.
The city on Thursday night experienced its most intense hour rainfall since records began 140 years ago. Hong Kong weather authorities issued a black warning, an alert that more than 70 millimeters (2.75 inches) of rain was expected to fall in an hour, at 11:05 p.m. Thursday.
More than double that amount came down — the Hong Kong Observatory said that 158.1 mm (6.22 inches) of rain fell at its headquarters between 11 p.m. and midnight, according to the South China Morning Post.
In other parts of Hong Kong — Kowloon, the northeastern New Territories and Hong Kong Island — more than 200 mm (7.87 inches) of rainfall was recorded between 6 p.m. and midnight, the paper reported.
JUST IN: Hong Kong just recorded its heaviest hourly rainfall on record with 158.1 mm [6.2 inches] between 11 PM and midnight (HKT). Records date back to 1884 (139 years ago). A rare “Black Rainstorm Warning Signal” has been issued by the HKO observatory. pic.twitter.com/KWtyWbqUmd
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) September 7, 2023
Photos and video shared on social media showed flooded streets, inundated subway stations and swamped city buses.
Water poured into the Cross-Harbor Tunnel, which connects Hong Kong Island with Kowloon, clogging up one of the city’s essential arteries.
Rubble and water rushed down the side of Mount Parker near Chai Wan, where roads and parking garages sat under standing water. Huge rocks blocked roads in Shau Kei Wan.
More than 20 buses remained stranded across the city on Friday morning, according to the South China Morning Post, and the city’s three main bus carriers suspended service until further notice. The metro was largely operational.
In southern China, schools were closed Friday in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and parts of Guangzhou and Foshan.
Authorities in Shenzhen warned people Friday morning not to enter the central Longgang district, according to local media. People and businesses on ground floors of buildings in the district were urged to evacuate.
Shenzhen city life persisted through the deluge. Video on Chinese social media showed one roadside food vendor continuing to fry rice while standing up to his knees in water. A delivery driver wandered in waist deep water in search of the person who had ordered food.
Social media posts showed that flooding overnight in Longgang had left dozens of vehicles swamped at major intersections.
The region has been battered by two typhoons in two weeks, with Saola and Haikui wreaking havoc across Taiwan and southern China, although Hong Kong was not the direct path of either.
Vic Chiang and Theodora Yu contributed to this report.
