“More than 200mm of rain causes deadly flooding, disrupting Hong Kong and Shenzhen”

Hong Kong experienced its heaviest rainfall in 140 years on Friday, resulting in two fatalities and over 100 injuries, as torrential rains wreaked havoc across the region. More than 200mm (7.9 inches) of rain fell on the main island, Kowloon, and the northern parts of the New Territories, causing severe flooding in narrow streets, malls, and transport hubs.

Videos from the city captured waist-deep water cascading through streets, overwhelming public infrastructure, including railway stations and tunnels. The extreme weather was caused by Typhoon Haikui, which made landfall in Fujian province on Tuesday. Although it weakened into a tropical depression, its slow-moving clouds continued to dump massive amounts of rain on already saturated areas.

The rainfall also severely impacted the nearby Chinese city of Shenzhen, home to over 17.7 million people. The city’s transportation and business links across the Pearl River Delta were disrupted, exacerbating the region’s economic challenges.

“I’ve never seen scenes like this before. Even during previous typhoons, it was never this severe,” said Connie Cheung, a 65-year-old nurse in Hong Kong, describing the chaos as terrifying.

Hong Kong’s weather bureau issued its highest warning, a “black rainstorm alert,” early on Friday morning, and although the warning was lowered by 6pm, authorities continue to warn of the ongoing risk of flooding in the area.