All schools were shut for the day on Friday and companies urged to take on a T8 footing, as an unprecedented deluge that prompted Hong Kong’s longest-ever black rainstorm warning wreaked havoc on the city’s infrastructure and left roads across the territory flooded.

Videos of Wong Tai Sin MTR station under a metre or so of water, a woman helplessly washed down a Chai Wan road, and of numerous cars broken down as floodwaters reached the bonnet gave a stark picture of the severity of the flooding.

Most day-time bus routes have been suspended while services on the MTR between Shek Kip Mei and Choi Hung stations were down due to flooding.

The government warned that the “extreme conditions” will continue until noon at least, and appealed to employers to treat the situation like a T8 signal, give due consideration to the safety of employees, and adopt a “sympathetic and flexible work arrangement.”

The Labour Department said under such extreme conditions, employees other than essential staff should not be required to report for duty at workplaces.

It advised all non-essential workers to remain at their current location instead of heading for work, adding that employers should give prime consideration to their employees’ safety when deciding whether they should head back to the office once the situation improves.

"For employees who are not able to report for duty or resume work on time due to 'extreme conditions', employers should not withhold their wages, good attendance bonuses or allowances without reasons, and should not penalise or dismiss the employee concerned rashly," a spokesman said.

The Hong Kong stock exchange was closed for the day, and many government services were suspended.

Health clinics with the exception of methadone clinics are closed. All court and tribunal hearings will be adjourned. Transport, immigration and social welfare services are also suspended, including child care centres, centres providing after school care programmes, elderly services centres and day rehabilitation units.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the remnants of tropical cyclone Haikui had brought the unprecedented deluge to the territory.

A record hourly rainfall of 158.1mm was recorded between 11pm and midnight on Thursday – the highest since records started being kept in 1884.

The black rainstorm warning was issued at 11.05pm, and was still up by Friday morning – with the duration far surpassing the previous record of five hours and 47 minutes set in August 1999.

The downpour also forced mainland authorities to discharge water from the Shenzhen reservoir starting from midnight, prompting the North District Office to take away residents of six villages in the northern New Territories that might be affected by flooding.

The Chief Executive John Lee had instructed all government departments to respond to the extreme conditions with “all-out efforts” to deal with various scenarios.

A government spokesman said the administration will be vigilant in assessing the latest situation of the weather, roads and public transport services, before making further announcements.
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Last updated: 2023-09-08 HKT 11:28