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| Water cascades down the stairs beside an MTR station entrance in Kennedy Town |
After an unprecedented four black rainstorm warnings in just eight days, more heavy showers are forecast for Hong Kong.
The Observatory says there will be more cloudy skies
with frequent showers and thunderstorms in the city on Wednesday, with some heavy
downpours at first.
The unsettled weather is said to be the result of an
active southwest monsoon and upper-air disturbances over southern China’s coast.
Residents are warned about potentially dangerous
conditions, like intense wind gusts and heavy flooding. Those who stay or work
outdoors should seek shelter immediately during thunderstorms.
The showers are expected to continue until Thursday,
but there will be relief from the rain later in the week. It will likely turn
very hot with sunny periods.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s black rainstorm warning that
lasted for more than 11 hours set a new disturbing record for Hong Kong, as it
was the fourth in just eight days.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
The top-level rain alert was raised at 5:40 am today,
and was downgraded to Amber only at 5:05pm.
It was raised a mere six hours after the last
rainstorm warning was raised at 11:45 pm the previous day.
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| Heavy flooding rarely seen on Garden Road in Mid-Levels |
The relentless downpour caused severe flooding in
many parts of Hong Kong, disrupted transportation networks, shut down schools
and offices, and put the city on high alert.
But the authorities said airport operations were
only slightly affected, with 61 departures and 40 arrivals delayed, one
departure and one arrival canceled, and two arrivals diverted as of this
morning.
The duration of today’s black rainstorm warning was
the second longest in Hong Kong’s history. Only the so-called "Black
Rainstorm of the Century" in September 2023 lasted longer, persisting for
16 hours and 35 minutes.
The Observatory noted that the alerts came in rapid
succession on July 29, August 2, August 4 and August 5, creating what they see
as an unsettling new weather pattern for the region.
The Black Rainstorm Warning which is the most severe
in Hong Kong's three-tier rainfall alert system, is triggered when widespread
rainfall exceeds 70 mm per hour with continued downpours expected.
But the Observatory can still issue even when
rainfall falls slightly below this threshold if prolonged heavy rain creates
dangerous conditions.
