Overview

• The Hong Kong Observatory issued a black rainstorm warning at 9:10 a.m. on July 29, effectively halting the city’s buses, ferries and subway services.
• Observatory measurements recorded more than 100 mm of rain in a single hour, the most intense hourly downpour since October 2023.
• This shutdown follows Typhoon Wipha, which passed south of Hong Kong on July 20 and prompted the region’s Hurricane Signal No. 10.
• Heavy showers driven by a broad trough of low pressure were especially severe over southern Hong Kong Island and Lamma Island, leading to some underground railway exits being closed.
• China’s National Meteorological Center predicts further heavy rain over the next three days in Beijing, eastern Fujian and Shanghai.