Photos show glitzy Hong Kong deluged in the city's worst-ever floods that devastated entire malls, streets, and parking lots
Matthew Loh
- Hong Kong experienced some of its worst-ever flooding on Thursday and Friday.
- At least 6 inches of rain fell within an hour, turning its streets into rivers and flooding buildings.
Hong Kong was beset on Thursday by the heaviest rains ever recorded in the city since 1884.
The rain fell in the late evening, brought on by "the trough of low pressure associated with the remnants of Typhoon Haikui," Hong Kong's government said on Friday. The typhoon had earlier struck several regions in mainland China, but mostly missed Hong Kong.
Ensuing floods have swamped some streets in the city up to the knee, with basement parking complexes and low-lying malls almost completely submerged. Authorities have told employers not to expect their staff to show up for work in their offices.
Photos of the city in the last 24 hours show the devastating flooding endured by one of Asia's biggest metropolises.
The rains are the heaviest ever recorded in Hong Kong since records began in 1884.
The Hong Kong observatory recorded 6.2 inches of rain between 11 p.m. and midnight on Thursday.
Source: Hong Kong Observatory.
Muddy floodwaters surged into the city's low-lying areas, turning some streets into rivers.
Cars across the urban sprawl were submerged in murky water.
Shops along main roads were some of the most heavily affected.
Like this 7/11 on the corner of a shophouse building.
The lowest floors of some malls were flooded completely. That's a sign for a milk tea shop next to the escalators.
People had to take refuge in the upper floors of shopping complexes.
Other stores had their merchandise wrecked by the torrential floods.
Several of the city's subway stations were flooded and had to be closed.
This basement parking lot saw floodwaters rise to at least chest level.
Other car owners had their vehicles almost wholly submerged.
Some drivers had to be rescued off the roads when the floods struck suddenly.
The deluge destroyed part of a road, as seen in this photo taken on Friday.
Elsewhere, the floods caused a landslide blocking traffic.
At least 83 people were hurt, with three seriously injured, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters.
As the city works to clear debris and alleviate the floods, authorities said they would suspend kindergarten to secondary school classes.
Source: Government of Hong Kong.
The extreme conditions are expected to last until Friday at 6 p.m., the local government said.
Source: Government of Hong Kong.
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