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 | Friday, April 14, 2000, updated at 14:47(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Hong Kong Hit by Monsoon Rains, Heavy FloodingThunderous monsoon rains slammed into Hong Kong on the morning of April 13, overturning motorbikes, swamping cars and driving residents from flooded homes.Six flights into the city were rerouted to Taiwan, local television said. Travellers were urged to call their airlines before setting off on their journeys in case of delays in air traffic. Schools were closed as more than 300 mm of rainfall were recorded over some areas of the New Territories. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a "red rainstorm warning" as well thunderstorm, strong monsoon, landslide and flood warnings. Fallen motorcycles were submersed in flooded city streets as cars moved slowly past, fender-deep in swirling water, television news showed. In neighbouring Macau, Mercedes and BMW luxury cars were shown smashed and encrusted with mud after colliding into curbs, traffic poles and each other as driving rain overnight blurred visibility. Several Macau luxury cars were smashed by debris in mudslides or flooded underground carparks. In Hong Kong, ambulance workers piggy-backed elderly residents from their small flooded homes, where pajama-clad dwellers attempted in vain to bale out water through their windows with plastic pales. Instant noodle packages and chocolate bars floated amid overturned shelves of flooded convenience stores, while street drains spewed water like fountains. The observatory said the rain was expected to ease off on Saturday, while Sunday would be cloudy and slightly cooler. By 8:40 am, temperature was 25 degrees C and relative humidity 88 percent.
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