Hong Kong public urged to avoid hiking as experts cite risks of landslides, floods
The warning came after the city's second-longest black rainstorm warning, which lasted for more than 11 hours on Tuesday. Experts also cautioned on Friday that the extent of soil instability was difficult to predict and that a landslide could be as sudden and powerful as an avalanche.
The city recently issued four black rainstorm warnings in eight days, breaking the record for the most black rain alerts in a single year. On Tuesday, the Observatory recorded a staggering 358.8mm (14.1 inches) of rainfall at its headquarters, the highest daily rainfall in August since records began in 1884.
The torrential rain caused significant damage across the city. On Thursday night, the Highways Department reopened a lane of Bride's Pool Road, which had collapsed in a severe landslide, after nearly two days of repair work. Some facilities in Plover Cove Country Park and Pat Sin Leng Country Park were temporarily closed.
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Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department urged the public on Thursday and Friday to refrain from hiking in the coming days.
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