AN EL Nino effect in the Pacific twice as powerful as that seen in 1992-93 could mean torrential rain this spring and early summer, a Hong Kong meteorologist said.
Such a phenomenon three years ago caused devastation in the New Territories and lost the building industry millions of dollars, according to the Royal Observatory.
Hong Kong University geography lecturer Dr Bill Kyle is urging the Government to keep a close eye on dangerous slopes following the landslide that killed five residents of the Kwun Lung Lau estate in Kennedy Town last July.
But the Royal Observatory cautioned that El Nino was not the only factor governing rainfall.
The return of the famous sea-warming effect has surprised the world's scientists, some of whom suggest the break in the usual five to seven-year cycle is due to global warming.
The warming effect is called El Nino - 'the boy child' - because it brings rain and therefore lush crops to South America at the time of the anniversary of the birth of Christ.