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Deadly Record Floods Submerge Hong Kong

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

HONG KONG (Worthy News) – Hong Kong authorities say at least two people have died, and 100 others were rushed to hospital as Southeast Asia’s financial hub battles flooding caused by its heaviest rains in over 140 years.

Witnesses noticed that streets and subway stations were underwater in Hong Kong.

The rainstorms transformed city streets into raging rivers, damaging cars, and storefronts and shuttering the extensive stock market on Friday as well as other workplaces and schools.

On social media, people climbed onto cars and other elevated platforms to escape the rising waters, which have risen several meters high in some areas, blocking subway entrances.

On Thursday, authorities issued a black warning for rainfall exceeding 70 millimeters an hour.

The Hong Kong Observatory later reported an hourly rainfall of 158.1 millimeters, the highest since records began in 1884. Severe flooding was also reported in the southern part of mainland China.

Heavy rain has also drenched southern China, with the city of Shenzhen – across the border from Hong Kong – reporting its heaviest showers since records began in 1952.

SUSPENDED FLIGHTS

Hundreds of flights were suspended in the wider Guangdong province while local authorities advised residents in low-lying areas to consider evacuations.

Tens of millions of people live in the densely populated coastal areas of southern China. On Thursday night, Shenzhen discharged water from its reservoirs after issuing a notice to Hong Kong. This action raised questions from Hong Kong locals online as to whether this exacerbated their city’s flooding.

It also came one month after extreme rains associated with Typhoon Doksuri killed more than 80 people in Northern China, authorities said.

Earlier this month, two typhoons, Saola and Haikui, hit southern China in quick succession – and sparked a citywide shutdown in Hong Kong.

China’s meteorological administration expects extreme rainfall to continue in the country’s southwestern region over the weekend.

It has added to a debate on whether climate change increased the intensity and frequency of tropical storms, leading to increased flash flooding and more significant damage.

Authorities say record flooding on multiple continents worldwide has left dozens dead and displaced thousands since the start of September. The scenes of devastation from extreme rainfall ravaged areas like Vermont, India, China, Spain, South America, and Japan with alarming frequency, officials said.