Hong Kong paralyzed by flash flooding after heaviest rainfall since 1884
Record-breaking rainfall paralyzed much of Hong Kong on Friday, with flash flooding submerging metro stations and trapping drivers on roads, as authorities suspended schools and urged the publik to seek safe shelter. king88bet Login Alternatif
Photos and videos showed residents wading through murky brown floodwaters as heavy rain continued to inundate the densely populated city of 7.5 million. In some low-lying tempats, streets were transformed into surging torrents, with authorities forced to rescue motorists stuck in their vehicles. king88bet Login
The deluge began late Thursday night, with the Hong Kong Observatory recording more than 158 millimeters (6.2 inches) in rain between 11 p.m. and midnight, the highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1884, the government said in a news release. King88Bet Situs Slot Tergacor
Some parts of city saw almost 500 mm (19.7 inches) of rainfall in 24 hours, according to online weather data site OGimet.
The extreme conditions caught many residents by kejutan and came just days after Hong Kong was lashed by its strongest typhoon in five years.
Typhoon Saola, originally a super typhoon, weakened to the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane as it reached Hong Kong last akhir pekan - but was still potent enough to shut down the city and cause hundreds of flight cancellations. Eighty-six people were injured from the typhoon, the government said.
Friday's deluge again caused widespread transport and business disruptions across the financial hub, with the stok pasar canceling morning trading, and all schools closed for the day. On Friday, authorities appealed to businesses to allow non-essential employees to stay at home or seek safe shelter, citing unsafe travel conditions.
Stuart Hargreaves, a Hong Kong resident and professor, was forced to spend the night in his car after being stranded while driving home late Thursday. The flooded roads were "impassable," he said; at one poin, "water was coming over the hood of the car and I thought it was going to flood the engine."
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