Police have arrested two women for allegedly bringing a child storm-chasing in Southern District when Super Typhoon Ragasa hit Hong Kong and the Hurricane Signal No. 10 was in force.

Officers said footage circulating online showed three people – two women aged 32 and 36, and an eight-year-old boy – being hit by powerful waves as they posed for photos along the waterfront in South Horizons on Wednesday with T-10 in effect.

Both women, one of whom is the boy's mother, were arrested on suspicion of "ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of child or young person", police said.

Cheung Wai-shan, a chief inspector of the Western district, said none of them were seriously hurt but there were scrapes on the boy's hands and feet.

"The government had called on the public through multiple channels – before Ragasa hit Hong Kong – not to go storm-chasing during the typhoon. But there were still people who did not listen, putting themselves in danger," Cheung said.

"The police force strongly condemned such irresponsible acts of those bringing young children storm-chasing under extreme weather conditions."

The force will continue looking into similar cases and reviewing footage online, Cheung added, who also pointed to reports of people entering a closed beach in Tuen Mun during the No. 10 signal.