Black Rainstorm

Mar 29-30 was Hong Kong Rugby Sevens weekend.   Of course I ignored it.  I had a life-time dose of rugby in NZ by the age of 17 and not even the Hong Kong connection could spark any interest.

Nevertheless this photo is a good illustration of the heavy rain that hit us on Sunday night which led to the first (All) 'Black Rainstorm' warning since 2010.  All Black Rainstorm warning means 'stay at home and lock-up your daughters & sheep'.

We enjoyed dramatic thunderstorms on Sunday night and Monday morning.   From our apartment in the clouds on the 47th floor we saw near-constant lightening flashes for several hours, although oddly not much thunder, and some hail and snow.    The HK observatory counted 2,000 lightening strikes and I think we had at least one direct hit on our complex.

Rain was very heavy in Kowloon with Kowloon Tong hit by giant hailstones and 70mm rain in under an hour.   This is flooding at Kowloon Tong station which I pass through on my way to work (see this SCMP link for more details).

The Festival Walk Mall at Kowloon Tong was flooded as the volume of water overwhelmed their storm-water drains and broke pipes, which shows that downpour was exceptional even by HK standards.