Hong Kong receives heaviest rainfall since 1884

One dead and over 110 people rushed to hospital as heaviest rain in 140 years batters Hong Kong

Hong Kong was lashed with the heaviest rainstorm since records began in 1884, which has killed one person and brought the city to a standstill.

The Asian financial hub reported 158.1mm of rainfall in just one hour on Thursday night, causing widespread flooding that forced the stock market to scrap trading on Friday.

Over 110 people, including four critical patients, were rushed to hospitals and medical centres for rain-related injuries.

The Hong Kong Observatory hoisted its longest “Black” rainstorm signal on Thursday as video and images on social media showed a stream of water surging down hillsides, flooding narrow streets and inundating malls, metro stations and subways.

The extreme weather condition is expected to last at least until 6pm (local time) on Friday, the city administration said.

The bouts of downpours hit the city just a week after a super cyclone shut the city's operations.

According to authorities, more than 200mm of rain was recorded on Hong Kong's main island, the Kowloon district and the northeastern part of the city's New Territories from late on Thursday.

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu in two social media posts said he was very concerned about the severe flooding in most parts of the territory and had instructed all departments to respond with "all-out efforts".

The city administration faced backlash for its lack of preparedness and the Communist Party's poor governance.

"In all my years working in and on Hong Kong, I’ve never seen floods like this. It’s a direct result of the irresponsible, negligent, repressive CCP [Communist Party of China] misrule," said Benedict Rogers, founder of non-profit Hong Kong Watch.

Resident Veronica Law responded to Mr Lee's post saying: “Not everyone was on Facebook. Why wasn’t even an SMS sent to residents in this kind of situation?”

“Is the chief executive sleeping? Are you aware of the severe flooding out there," asked Emi An, according to the South China Morning Post.

When asked about the lack of preparedness, chief secretary Eric Chan told reporters that the predictability was low when compared to the typhoon. “So in typhoon, we can make an early prediction and make an early preparation," he added.

Plainclothes officials and police look at a landslide covering a road at Yiu Tung Estate in Shau Kei Wan in Hong Kong (AFP via Getty Images)

Schools were ordered to be shut in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland city of Shenzhen, while non-essential workers were urged to not step out of their homes.

Buses and trains were halted as the city's transport network was "severely disrupted" and an "extreme conditions situation" would be extended to midnight on Friday.

A car was swallowed up by a metres-wide pothole when one section of road collapsed, social media pictures showed. Rescue workers took one person to hospital who was dead on arrival.

A car is towed away after it fell into a hole caused by road subsidence, following torrential rains hitting the city, in Hong Kong (EPA)

The city's cross-harbour tunnel, one of the main arteries connecting Hong Kong island to Kowloon, was inundated and a shopping mall in the Chai Wan district was half-submerged.

Insurance claims are likely to exceed $100mn and could be comparable to Typhoon Mangkhut’s $470m in 2018, Bloomberg reported.

More than 11,000 people were evacuated from water-logged areas in Meizhou, a city in Guangdong province in mainland China, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Trains and flights were suspended in Guangdong and several landslides blocked roads.

Shenzhen’s total rainfall was 469mm – the heaviest rainfall since Shenzhen started meteorological records in 1952, the broadcaster reported.

Beijing has issued a flood disaster warning for several districts of the Chinese capital, forecasting heavy rainfall through until Saturday night.