Hong Kong’s
first black rainstorm of the year underscored the vagaries of rainy season weather, inundating some areas while leaving others relatively unscathed. It is a pattern repeated by the torrential downpours in
mainland China, only on a much larger and more tragic scale, including the loss of many lives. Hong Kong’s rainfall was heaviest in the Southern and Eastern districts, raising the risk of landslides. After downgrading the black rainstorm signal to red, then amber, the Observatory warned residents to stay away from slopes.
Under a broad trough of low pressure, heavy showers and squally thunderstorms loomed along the coast of Guangdong.
Videos of flooding and landslides tell a calamitous story on the mainland. The country’s leaders called for all-out efforts in disaster relief after
“heavy casualties” in Beijing and elsewhere. Downpours and floods also hit the neighbouring province of Hebei, northeastern Liaoning and the eastern coastal province of Shandong, state news agency Xinhua said.
President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out search and rescue for the missing and trapped, as well as the immediate relocation of those in danger. Noting the significant casualties and property losses, Xi called for urgent disaster relief. Miyun, a mountainous district in the northeast of Beijing, was particularly hard hit, with heavy rain causing flash floods and landslides, forcing the relocation of tens of thousands of villagers.
To the unsettled and unpredictable nature of rainy season weather must be added an extra challenge to preparedness and precise forecasting – the influence of climate change. After previous experiences, particularly the serious flooding and damage from a black rainstorm in
Wong Tai Sin two years ago, the authorities have stepped up drainage and flood prevention efforts, yet we remain at risk of being underprepared.
Hourly rainfall on Lamma Island exceeded 100mm (4 inches), the Observatory said. While some districts are notorious for flooding, the authorities and public alike must bear in mind they can be at risk anywhere and it is difficult to accurately predict which areas will flood.
