Hong Kong counts cost of record-setting rains as public anger over official response mounts
- Firefighters search for man washed away in Sha Tin, while another man’s body found in Sheung Wan, although authorities unable to say if he was victim of storm
- Rainstorm sends more than 140 people to hospital, triggers 39 landslides, floods malls and rail stations, and interrupts power for thousands of families
The worst rainstorm to hit Hong Kong in more than a century left the city paralysed on Friday, with businesses, schools and offices closed after a night of chaos caused by flash floods that turned roads into raging rivers, swamped entire neighbourhoods, triggered landslides and sent more than 140 people to hospital.
Fire Services Department divers were still scouring the Kau To Hang River in Sha Tin after receiving a report that a man had been washed away by floodwaters. Another man’s body was found floating in the sea near the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan, although authorities were unable to confirm whether he was a victim of the storm.
Facing public anger over the city’s unpreparedness for the sheer impact of the record-breaking downpours which kept the highest-level, black rainstorm warning in force for an unprecedented 16 hours, the government promised a review but insisted it was difficult to predict the sudden onset of such extreme weather.
“The rainstorm this time is ‘once in 100 years’. The rainfall recorded in 24 hours was amounting to a quarter of the city’s total annual level,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said after inspecting the site of a landslide at Yiu Tung estate in Shau Kei Wan on Friday evening.
“I agree that a review can be done in terms of the warning system. While the room might not be huge under the limitations of technology [in forecasting rainfall], can we disseminate more information in views of boosting the safety factor and considering public preparation?”
Asked whether he would apologise over the government’s handling of the crisis, Lee said his administration had focused on keeping the situation under control but there was always room for improvement.
