'Everyone in this street is haunted by floods'
Ho Man-kwong was dismayed at the scene greeting him when he rushed to his dried seafood shop in Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, at 4am yesterday. Dried abalone, shark's fin and sea cucumber costing up to $1,000 per 100 grams were scattered around the flooded floor, and plastic storage boxes were overturned by water gushing into the store.
'I have totally given up on the government. Everyone in this street is haunted by floods a few times every year, but nothing is done to solve our problems,' he said.
The Drainage Services Department launched a $210 million improvement project late last month in the hope of ending the misery. But work will not be completed until 2009.
Meanwhile, furniture shop owners in Ma Tau Wai Road, To Kwa Wan, who have also been plagued by flooding, said the authorities had never talked to them about a remedy. 'We are the victims of frequent flooding as well, and every time we lose tens of thousands of dollars,' said Steve Chung, the manager of Rome Design, which lost computers, paintings and wardrobes worth $30,000.
Mr Chung, who has installed a fence to curb water inflow, hoped the government could do something to rectify the problems.
