And so we move into rainy season in Hong Kong. From April until about August, Hong Kong drip-dries as rainstorm after rainstorm rolls in – the wettest months with the most sustained rainfall are May and June. Spring in Hong Kong just doesn’t exist. One minute you’re shivering under a duvet, the next you’re sweating it out in a pair of wellies and a cagoule as humidity levels soar and the storm clouds converge.
Unfortunately the mountainous topography of the Territory and prolonged rainfall can quickly disintegrate into a high risk of landslip. In the early 1990s the government introduced a rainfall warning system following a deadly landslide at private residential estate, Baguio Villas, on Hong Kong Island.
After two days of heavy, sustained rain, the steep mountain slopes behind the complex were saturated. With only an old, Victorian masonry wall holding everything in place, the mud suddenly surged down a steep gully before crashing into Lower Baguio Villas at around 2pm on 8 May 1992. Residents reported blocks 43 and 44 physically shaking as tonnes of earth slammed into them, swamping apartments as high as the third floor.
Tragically a seven-year-old boy in one of the ground floor apartments, and a council engineer who had ironically been sent out to check on blocked drains at the complex, both lost their lives when the landslide hit. Hundreds of residents had to be evacuated, some not able to return until several months later.
Extensive work has since been carried out at Baguio to ensure such as incident never occurs again, and is one of the reasons many slopes have been concreted over and are constantly being maintained around the Territory.
It also heralded the introduction of the rainfall warning system. If more than 30mm of rain is falling or expected to fall in the next hour, the Amber signal is hoisted. 50mm means the Red warning goes up, and over 70mm sees a Black warning (the highest) raised, with residents being told to seek shelter or stay indoors. Taxis stop running and private drivers become uninsured. If the Black signal goes up first thing in the morning, the school buses cannot run and schools are subsequently shut. Many a night the kids have gone to bed, fingers crossed and praying for the rain to continue.
These days, HK Observatory runs a great app (MyObservatory) which alerts you to weather warnings, and also boasts an incredibly handy Rainfall Forecast, showing you exactly where rain is expected over the following two hour period. A saviour if you’re hosting an outdoor event at this soggy time of year.
And to finish a serious topic on a totally frivolous note, Kidnapped Bookshop in Sai Kung is selling some gorgeous Hong Kong-inspired brollies this season, designed by local artist Lorette Roberts. If you’re going to get rained on, at least do it in style.
Kidnapped is at 7 Man Nin St, Sai Kung. Lorette’s umbrellas can be viewed at http://www.loretteroberts.com.
Beyond the Highrise 