THIS month's record-breaking rain has marked a 111-year watershed in Hong Kong Observatory statistics.
In the first 18 days of July, there were 679 millimetres of rain, the highest for the first half of the month since Observatory records began in 1884. The previous high for the period was 641.5 mm in 1886.
Rainfall has been recorded every day since June 28 but it remains to be seen whether this month's unusual weather will exceed the all-time July high of 1994, when 1,147.2 mm of rain fell.
In the 24 hours to midnight yesterday there were 63.2 mm of rain, bringing the month's total so far to 743.3 mm.
It was heaviest in the New Territories where flash floods, temporary road closures and traffic jams brought some areas to a standstill. Farmland was inundated and streets in some border villages were closed.
The Drainage Services and Fire Services departments received 26 reports of flooding, which was particularly severe in Shataukok and Yuen Long.
