Hong Kong eyes reopening of Sai Kung road by Monday after city sees first red rainstorm of year
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong authorities have said a road in Sai Kung that was partially closed due to a landslide on Saturday should reopen by Monday morning, after the city saw its first red rainstorm of the year.
After inspecting an affected section of Clear Water Bay Road, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung said that workers were carrying out “temporary consolidation work” by spraying concrete onto the slope.
“Our contractor and the Highways Department will keep monitoring the situation here,” Lam told reporters. “We’ll also liaise with the observatory to see if the weather will worsen, and we’ve installed some sump pumps in case there’s heavy rain.”
The city was hit by heavy rain on Saturday, prompting the Hong Kong Observatory to issue the yellow rainstorm warning at around 7.30 am. The signal was upgraded to the red rainstorm signal just before 9 am as weather authorities warned of serious flooding and traffic congestion.
At around noon, the Observatory said there was a possibility of issuing the black rainstorm alert, the highest of the city’s three rainstorm warnings. But the storm weakened, authorities said, and the black rain alert was not raised.
Flooding in Sai Kung
The government received reports of 16 flooding cases on Saturday, 12 of which were in the hardest hit areas: Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O.
A section of Clearwater Bay Road near Wing Lung Road was closed off after a slope measuring 30 metres long and 40 metres deep collapsed. Underground pipes below a pavement were left exposed.
Authorities shut one of the traffic lanes for repairs and implemented two-way traffic on the affected section of the road.
Pan Long Wan, Sheung Yeung, Ha Yeung and Sheung Sze Wan were among the villages that saw flooding, according to the Hang Hau Rural Committee. Photos showed cars driving through flooded streets and water gushing down village roads.
In a car park in Tseung Kwan O, over a hundred cars were seen parked in floodwaters.
There were also 15 reports of landslides in Sai Kung, including in Ma Yau Tong, Mang Kung Uk and Sheung Yeung villages.
The Hong Kong Observatory lowered the red rainstorm signal to amber just before 4 pm. The amber alert was cancelled by 9 pm.
According to the Observatory’s forecast on Sunday evening, hot weather and a few showers are expected in the coming week.
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