A man wears a plastic bag to keep himself dry as he walks through the rain in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, late on Sept 7, 2023. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong residents faced unexpected disruption to their daily routines amid hard rain on Friday, with traffic coming to a standstill, vehicles submerged and roads flooded. 

Some said they experienced “moments of helplessness” as the torrential rain wreaked havoc.

The Hong Kong Observatory, which issued the black rainstorm warning at 11:05 pm on Thursday, recorded hourly rainfall of 158.1 mm between 11 pm local time and midnight – the highest since 1884 when recordkeeping started.

The torrential rain persisted until Friday. Having been besieged by Super Typhoon Saola last week, the city finds itself once again beneath dark skies and dealing with the challenges posed by seemingly relentless rainfall. 

Hong Kong photographer Leung Cheuk-hei found himself caught in the intense rain when attending a banquet in Shenzhen on Thursday night. Although he was carrying an umbrella, his lower body got soaked.

As the rain intensified, floodwaters on the road rapidly rose to nearly a meter deep, submerging passersby up to their waists, Leung said.

IN PICTURES: Record rain brings Hong Kong to a standstill

He heard from others that someone walking in the water had been electrocuted, and an onlooker had called emergency services immediately. “I felt really hopeless at that time. It seemed that I could do nothing but wait for the rain to stop.”

Stranded without transport options for returning home, Leung had to remain in Shenzhen. As all nearby hotels had lost power, he spent a sleepless night sheltering in a small restaurant.

On Friday, his return journey to Hong Kong through Lo Wu Control Point was tremendously difficult, Leung said, adding that he had had to navigate his way using multiple metro and bus connections amid the aftermath of the storm.

Hong Kong resident Wang Tianzi found himself trapped in Tsim Sha Tsui all night by the unexpected rain after dining out on Thursday night.

People walk on a street blocked by floodwaters due to the heavy rain in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Sept 8, 2023. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

The exhausted securities practitioner eventually hailed a car on Uber and returned to his home in Sheung Wan at around 5 am on Friday. Due to the ongoing rain, Wang did not attempt to travel to his office on Friday morning.

The Hong Kong SAR government acted quickly to mitigate the problems arising from the sudden deterioration in weather conditions, as did the public transportation operators, Wang said. 

However, he believed that Shenzhen, which has also been battered by severe flooding and heavy rains since Thursday night, should have informed Hong Kong earlier about its decision to discharge water from the Shenzhen Reservoir – a construction that sits on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border and supplies fresh water to both cities.

As the two cities have been further enhancing their ties over the years, the authorities from both sides should have devised a better communication mechanism for tackling shared challenges, Wang added.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University student Lu Hongjing told China Daily that she had to alter her plans to travel to Shenzhen for a vaccination due to the severe weather conditions. 

Due to disruptions to the MTR service caused by the rain and her concerns about the uncertain situation in Shenzhen, she decided not to risk venturing there, Lu said.

Lu also expressed concerns about whether she would be able to attend her evening classes in person, as commuting to the school may be difficult in the aftermath of the storm.

She added that, with no food stocked at home, she was concerned about being able to find somewhere to have a meal, with many restaurants in the city being closed in the wake of the storm. 

Hong Kong resident Liz Cheung said she was planning to travel to Chengdu. She had opted to travel to the airport by taxi due to the lack of buses and rail transport available following the storm.

“Of course I'm worried about flight delays,” Cheung said, “but after I checked the records of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, I found the delays were only about an hour even during the heaviest rain yesterday.” With this information in mind, she remained hopeful about her travel plans.

Some dedicated people braved challenging conditions to reach their workplaces, in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the city. 

READ MORE: 110 hurt, HK flooded with highest hourly rainfall in 139 yrs

A tourism practitioner surnamed Ng arrived on time at her office in Central in the morning, and had observed that many other people were also heading to work despite the extreme weather. 

Exposed to the torrential rain, she had had to tiptoe through puddles to cross the road. She had noticed that a glass sky bridge in Central was leaking. “The heavy rain pattering against the glass sounded like ping pong balls hitting the tabletop,” she said.

Many of her colleagues had also reached the office. The tour groups they were responsible for departed via high-speed rail as scheduled in the morning, while flight operations remain uncertain at the moment, Ng said, adding that she hoped that cross-border transport won't be significantly affected.

She pointed out that Hong Kong is used to severe weather, and with the city’s strong emergency capabilities and a robust response mechanism in place, the city will withstand and quickly recover from and the rainstorm.