At least two people died during historic floods plaguing Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday.
More than 100 people were injured and at least two killed in Hong Kong on Friday as a series of major typhoons plagued the financial hub, causing widespread flooding and damage to property, according to Reuters. Hong Kong’s weather bureau issued a “black” rainstorm warning early on Friday, the highest alert, as more than 7.9 inches of rain hit the main island of Kowloon and the New Territories late on Thursday night.
By midnight on Thursday, the Hong Kong Observatory reported 6.2 inches of rainfall in the previous hour, the highest recorded since record began in 1884, HuffPost reported. Horrifying scenes were shared in videos by Al Jazeera, showing a woman being washed away in a deluge of filthy water.
Video shows a woman getting swept along a street by flash floods in Hong Kong, where the heaviest rain for 140 years has caused havoc ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/dL8aasdTza
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 8, 2023
Photographs and videos of Hong Kong’s metro line show water reaching waist height as people appear to be trying to use the service to get around the city.
🌧️⚫️🌊 HK Flood:
Video of taxi driver attempting to get out of his stranded car while a medium-goods van drives past causing a wake, pushing the taxi driver back into his vehicle:#HongKong #HKflood pic.twitter.com/wAWutlHcpy
— Jonny (@jonnnnyw) September 8, 2023
One video shared online showed torrents of water flowing through the city at an insane speed. Somehow, much of the infrastructure seemed to survive, but who knows for how long.
200-year flood in Hong Kong. Heaviest recorded rainfall since 1884. pic.twitter.com/f2bujpoVVm
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 8, 2023
Reuters noted that an enormous pothole swallowed a car as a section of road collapsed. Transport throughout the region was “severely disrupted” as the “extreme conditions” continued through Friday. Beijing witnessed similar scenes when Superstorm Doksuri struck on Aug. 1. At least 11 people were killed and 13 others were missing.