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Hong Kong environmental issues
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong floods: ‘once-in-500-years’ storm hard to predict, officials say, as John Lee agrees on need for warning system review, better communication with public

  • Government efforts seen to be in stark contrast with show of vigilance against Super Typhoon Saola a week earlier
  • Latest storm caught city off guard overnight, flooding roads and malls

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A Hong Kong road is strewn with debris, rubbish and an abandoned taxi as floodwaters recede. Photo: Dickson Lee
Jeffie Lam,Natalie Wong,Edith LinandClifford Lo
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Hong Kong officials met the press at 2.30pm on Friday to provide details on efforts in handling the aftermath of the city’s worst downpour in more than a century amid mounting questions over a perceived lack of preparedness.

The extreme weather event, which also triggered the city’s longest-ever black rainstorm warning, turned streets into rivers, stranded drivers in vehicles, flooded malls as well as railway stations, and left more than 100 people in hospital.

Authorities suspended day schools and urged employers to adopt typhoon No 8 alert arrangements for staff, warning the wet conditions would last at least until 6pm.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who has so far published two social media posts urging the public to stay safe, has been targeted by unhappy online users who questioned his handling of the storm – a stark contrast to a week earlier when officials pulled out all the stops to protect the city against Super Typhoon Saola.

Below are live updates:

End of ‘extreme conditions’ warning

The government announced at 9.38pm that the “extreme conditions” warning – which had been in force since 5.30am on Friday morning – would end at midnight on Friday, citing the stabilised weather and improved road situation.

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