Explainer | What sparked 12,000 lightning strikes in Hong Kong in 1 morning and is your home safe?
- Lightning struck a flat in Wo Tin Estate, startling tenant and her daughter who were getting ready for school
- Typhoon Mawar influenced the region’s weather despite coming nowhere near Hong Kong
A storm on Thursday morning influenced by Typhoon Mawar resulted in more than 12,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, with a public housing tenant in Tuen Mun having a first-hand encounter.
Lightning struck a flat in Wo Tin Estate when the amber rainstorm warning was in force. It is suspected of having peeled off part of the concrete on the outer wall. The Nepalese tenant, Gurung Preeti, said she saw a fireball and heard a loud noise while she was combing her daughter’s hair.
Although the Housing Department later said no indoor repairs were needed following investigations, the tenant said her daughter was so startled that she did not feel safe staying in the flat.
The Post looks into how the incident happened and how safe residents are in their own homes.
1. What caused so many lightning strikes?
Warmer air can capture more water molecules than cooler air, these droplets and ice crystals bump into each other and move apart during a storm, forming electric charges in the clouds.