Flooded homes, shattered windows, a submerged car park and deadly bamboo ... Hato’s wrath in Hong Kong
City is whipped by the biggest storm in five years, as some residents struggle to stay safe while others brave conditions for selfies
On the southeastern coast of Hong Kong, Li Kwok-ping and four other family members – armed only with plastic buckets and a dustpan – watched on helplessly as one wave after another crashed through their door for hours, flooding their home while Typhoon Hato wreaked havoc throughout the city on Wednesday.
Li’s family was just one of hundreds in rural areas that struggled to grapple with the biggest storm in five years, as Hato left destruction in its wake, flooding villages and uprooting trees.
Meanwhile, other parts of the city descended into chaos, lashed by rain and battered by powerful gusts of wind. The typhoon signal No 10 – the highest in Hong Kong’s storm warning system – was in place for more than five hours.
As of 9pm on Wednesday, no deaths from the storm were reported in Hong Kong, but at least 121 people were injured.
At least four areas were severely flooded – Lei Yue Mun and Heng Fa Chuen on the southeastern coast of Hong Kong, as well as Tai O fishing village on Lantau Island and Sha Tin in the New Territories.