Elsie Leung Oi-sie, 76, Former justice secretary and vice-chairwoman of the Basic Law Committee, Hong Kong
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The Haunting of Borley Rectory
2 days ago
This car was engulfed in rain water at a roundabout near the entrance to Sai Kung Country Park. Photo: Dickson Lee
Firefighters had to rescue a 37-year-old expatriate woman and her son from a broken-down car amid torrential rain that lashed Sai Kung this morning, causing severe flooding in the area.
The vehicle was stuck in 90cm of water on Tai Mong Tsai Road near Pak Tam Chung Holiday Camp in Sai Kung. A police spokeswoman said the woman and her son were unhurt and their car was later towed away.
The spokeswoman said their car was among several vehicles that broke down in the area.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, 102mm of rain was recorded in Sai Kung between 8.45am and 9.45am, coming in addition to downpours on Monday and yesterday.
The police also said that a three-storey retaining wall collapsed behind Hopes Villa off Tai Mong Tsai Road at about 10.30am. Sand and mud washed down from the hillside and blocked a section of the road. The spokeswoman said firemen were called in and no one was injured.
Pictures showed knee-high water covering roads in the Sai Kung area, in particular in Tai Mong Tsai.
Observatory scientific officer Tsoi Tze-shun said the torrential rainfall was very isolated with western parts of the New Territories receiving only 10mm.
“We expect there will be some more showers and a few thunderstorms in the afternoon and tonight,” he said.
Relief is on the way though - autumn will finally arrive in Hong Kong over the weekend as temperatures fall to their lowest levels in months and the sky continues to clear.
A monsoon surge over southeast China will bring cool weather to the city, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, a welcome relief after locals sweltered through a hot and dry September.
Temperatures are forecast to fall to as low as 22 degrees on Sunday, with a maximum of 26, while humidity could drop as low as 55 per cent.
Tsoi said the cool weather would continue on Monday before warmer temperatures returned towards the middle of the week.
“The northeast monsoon will arrive over the weekend, so it will bring with it the cool air from over China to our vicinity,” he said.
While rain is forecast to continue to fall today, relatively drier weather is expected for the rest of the week.
"There will be rain upon arrival of the monsoon, on Friday and Saturday, but we think the drier air will arrive early next week,” Tsoi said.
Weather conditions related to the developing El Nino weather system in the Pacific Ocean meant Hong Kong sweated through an unusually warm September, with temperatures up to a degree above average and rainfall more than 200mm below expectations.
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