Authorities’ flood rescue efforts unceasing, says Chris Tang

The government would never stop their rescue efforts of citizens from the serious citywide flood, said the city’s chief law enforcement administrator. 

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said that the authorities' activity went beyond simply issuing press releases; stating that the SAR government received the pertinent notice 45 minutes before the flood discharge in Shenzhen and then released the pertinent press release 16 minutes before the discharge. 

“We swiftly made arrangements for various departments, including the Drainage Services Department, to send employees to the six affected villages to carry out evacuation and other activities without any slack once it was known that Shenzhen would release floodwaters,” Tang said. Earlier today, Tang additionally noted that the citywide flooding had no connection to Shenzhen's water discharge. 

“I am aware that some citizens are concerned about flooding in Hong Kong as a result of the water discharge in Shenzhen Reservoir but in actuality, the flood flow there was part of the original plan and serves as a safety precaution for both cities,” said Tang, adding that in emergencies, flood drainage enables the controlled release of floodwater into rivers. 

This degree of rainfall is also rare to see even over spans of centuries, according to the city’s drainage manager. 

“Last night's severe rains were a once-in-500-year occurrence,” said Peter Chui Si-kay, Acting Director of DSD, adding that the primary flood drainage systems in city areas can typically endure a downpour that occurs only once every 200 years while the rainfall this time has surpassed the limit. 

Chui also said that DSD has received a total of 60 flooding reports, with 13 of them still undergoing maintenance. 

The Highways Department has also received reports of crises involving approximately 70 roads as of 2 p.m., including landslides, road subsidence, and flooding. 

“Emergency repairs are being made by contractors and it will take a while to fix several road segments, including the Chai Wan Road roundabout, Yiu Hing Street, the Peak, and some highways in the Southern District,” said Jimmy Chan Pai-ming, Director of the HyD. 

There had also been a total of 20 landslip occurrences reported as of noon today, of which six had been resolved, according to the Civil Engineering Department. They had also dispatched workers to investigate the more severely impacted locations. 

Three hundred forty-three calls for help were made to the Fire Services Department, with Aberdeen, Wong Chuk Hang, Happy Valley, Tai Po, Sheung Shui, and Yuen Long seeing the worst damage. 

The Home Affairs Department reports that as of 12:30 p.m., 15 temporary shelters had been set up in various districts, housing a total of 325 individuals, including 233 at the North District Shelter Centre.