Remnants of Typhoon Koinu bring floods to Hong Kong
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Koinu had weakened into a severe tropical storm, but still brought gale-force winds and heavy rain, the city's Observatory said.
PHOTO: AFP
HONG KONG – Hong Kong saw heavy flooding on Monday as the remnants of Typhoon Koinu brought heavy rain and strong gales, with many areas inundated with water just a month after the city was paralysed by record-breaking rainfall.
Koinu had weakened into a severe tropical storm but still packed a punch, the city’s Observatory noted. It was tracking west or west-south-west as it crossed the western coast of China’s southern Guangdong province.
Schools were shut on Monday while the city’s stock exchange closed for the morning session. It resumed trading in the afternoon for about two hours before markets closed.
Hong Kong’s weather bureau issued a landslide warning with many areas of the mountainous city at risk after unusually wet weather. In the southern part of the city, huge gushes of water washed down Repulse Bay Road, prompting the closure of some parts, videos on social media showed.
More than 150mm of rain was recorded over most of the territory since midnight on Monday, and rainfall exceeded 300mm over parts of urban Hong Kong island, data showed.
A resident on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island said her ground-level flat had been flooded twice within a month. “I have lived here for three years and have never experienced something like that,” the woman, who wanted to be known only as Ms Ivory, said.
The overnight “black” rainstorm warning was the second since September, when Hong Kong experienced its highest rainfall in nearly 140 years
Ms Ivory said she blocked her front door with sandbags but still woke up on Monday morning to find her home flooded ankle-deep.
“The weather has apparently become more extreme,” she added.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Hong Kong’s airport overnight and underground metro stations as Koinu disrupted flights and transport, public broadcaster RTHK reported.
The Airport Express train which connects the airport to the central business district stopped running while services at some metro stations were partially suspended. Services had since resumed at limited frequencies, operator MTR said.
The China Meteorological Administration said the eye of the storm was in Taishan city in populous Guangdong province early on Monday, with a maximum wind speed of around 100kmh.
China’s national forecaster issued storm and typhoon warnings in various districts in Guangdong, including Zhuhai city, and suspended schools, state media reported.
Koinu is expected to approach Guangdong’s western coast and then the eastern part of Hainan island with weakening intensity.
However, strong winds were forecast in several areas in the coastal southern region including around the mouth of the Pearl River and localised heavy rains in south-western Guangdong, forecasts show. REUTERS
