Mud traps six as rain swamps HK
A CHILD and five adults were trapped in a mudslide near Sha Tin yesterday as the territory was lashed by the heaviest rainfall this year.
Mud from a collapsed slope 10 metres wide and 40 metres high swept down at Tai Yip Lane in Fo Tan, one of the areas worst hit by the weather.
A staircase leading to a village at the top of the slope was blocked, trapping the child, three men and two women.
Firemen had to dig through to lead them to safety.
The mud also pushed away three vans.
Firemen used life detectors to search under the mud following reports that someone might have been buried.
More than 200 millimetres of rain fell on Sha Tin and the red rainstorm warning was raised for the first time this year.
Nearly 100 reports of flooding were received and several landslides occurred.
Yesterday afternoon, traffic along Nathan Road in Mongkok was forced to a standstill as the water reached waist-level.
People living near unstable slopes or under overhanging boulders were told to evacuate their homes while residents of low-lying areas, particularly those in squatter settlements, were warned to take precautions against flooding.
Emergency shelters were opened last night for those whose homes were endangered by the weather.
Flooding reports totalled 175 by late last night - 96 in Kowloon, 71 in the New Territories and eight on Hongkong Island. There were 22 mudslides across the territory.
Eight schools in Kowloon and the New Territories were closed because of flooding fears and the Education Department's emergency procedure was put into operation with teams of officers monitoring the weather situation and giving advice to parents and principals.
By last night, 137.8 mm of rain had been recorded at the Royal Observatory, easily surpassing the 76.5 mm total of May 25.
The red rainstorm warning was hoisted at 3.25 pm, too late to affect schools although the Social Welfare Department asked people to collect their relatives from child-care centres and day-care centres for the elderly.
The warning system was introduced after last year's storms which claimed five lives in one day and led to protests that orders to close schools were not being issued quickly enough. The only other time the red warning has been issued was on July 18, lastyear.
The red alert is raised when 50 mm of rain has been recorded in one hour and is followed by a black warning if 100 mm of rain is recorded within two hours. Schools are generally closed when the red warning comes into effect and everyone is urged to stay at home or take cover when there is a black warning.
The red rainstorm warning was cancelled at 4.40 pm although the landslide alert remained in force.
