Heavy rainfall halts schools in Hong Kong, as Shek O Road closed again after emergency repair works washed away
Hong Kong Free Press
Heavy rains hit Hong Kong early on Thursday morning, causing the Observatory to issue its Red rainstorm warning signal and the Education Bureau to cancel classes.
More than 50 millimetres of rain was recorded over eastern parts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Sha Tin and Tai Po, the Observatory said, with images shared online showing the deluge had impacted emergency repair works on Shek O Road.
The Red rainstorm warning was issued at 5.55 am, with the Observatory warning that further heavy rain could cause serious flooding and traffic disruption. It was replaced by the lower Amber warning signal at 10.30 am.
Residents of the coastal villages of Shek O and Big Wave Bay were cut off from the city for the second time in a week, after Thursday morning’s rainfall washed away emergency repair works along the only road providing access to the area.
Images showed red-and-white plastic hoarding set up around a collapsed section of the road caused by a landslide that occurred during record rainfall last Thursday night had disappeared.
HKFP has reached out to the Highways Department and Civil Engineering and Development Department for comment.
Speaking to HKFP last Saturday, Southern District Councillor Paul Zimmerman that issues surrounding drainage and infrastructure on Hong Kong’s old mountain roads, including Shek O Road, were long-standing. “They [have] very outdated drainage systems and very outdated road infrastructure,” have said.
A spokesperson from the Drainage Services Department told HKFP by phone on Thursday morning to wait for a response from the Highways Department and Civil Engineering and Development Department, and that they had no further comment.
The Education Bureau announced the suspension of schools at around 6 am, marking the third day of interrupted classes because of extreme weather since the school year began on September 1. “As the Red Rainstorm Warning Signal is now in force, classes of all AM schools and whole-day schools are suspended today,” it said.
In a statement issued at 6 am, the Labour Department reminded employers to allow staff flexibility to work from home, if necessary, and consider the need to report for duty and early release.
“Employers should make prior work arrangements and contingency measures for staff. In drawing up and implementing the work arrangements, employers should give prime consideration to employees’ safety and the feasibility for employees to travel to and from their workplaces,” a department spokesperson said.
The Social Welfare Department advised people not to take children or family members to child care centres, centres providing after school care programmes, elderly services centres or day rehabilitation units.
“Heavy rain is expected to persist over the territory in the next couple of hours,” the Hong Kong Observatory said on Thursday morning. “Members of the public should be on the alert.”
Hong Kong has been subjected to heavy rainfall intermittently since last Thursday, when hourly rainfall of 158.1 millimetres was recorded, the highest since records began in 1884.
Speaking at an inter-departmental press conference last Friday to address the severe flooding and landslides caused by the historic downpour, Lee Lap-shun, the acting director of the Hong Kong Observatory, said the city had recorded over 600 millimetres of rainfall within 24 hours, equivalent to a quarter of its average annual rainfall. Tai Tam and Chai Wan experienced some of the heaviest downpours.
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