Beijing on top alert for heavy rain, tells residents to avoid going out
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South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chikungunya fever: Hong Kong urged to step up mosquito control after rainstorm
Hong Kong should step up efforts to fight mosquitoes after the city recorded its second-longest black rainstorm warning, experts have warned, with data showing the breeding of the pest that can transmit chikungunya fever is 'fairly extensive' in 70 per cent of the city's surveyed areas. Advertisement A black rainstorm warning lasted 11 hours and 15 minutes on Tuesday, the second-longest in Hong Kong's recorded history. Three days earlier, the city recorded its first imported chikungunya fever case, a mosquito-borne disease, since 2019. 'There are more water bodies following heavy rain and they would not evaporate quickly. You would need extra efforts [afterwards] to apply larvicide sand and oil', said Peter Leung Kwong-yuen, chairman of the Pest Control Personnel Association of Hong Kong. Leung said that more waterlogging would occur after days of thunderstorms, although the heavy rain might curb the breeding of mosquitoes. 'We are not worried about the heavy rain, which could wash away the stagnant water,' Leung said, noting that mosquitoes usually prefer to breed in standing water. Advertisement 'Mosquitoes cannot lay eggs in flowing water, and they also have to hide a bit under the heavy rain,' he added.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong deploys 3 robotic ‘water-pumping dragons' to drain 24 floods
Hong Kong authorities have deployed three 'mobile powerful pumping robots' for the first time to drain at least 24 flooded locations on a day when the city's forecaster recorded the heaviest daily rainfall for August since 1884. Advertisement According to the Drainage Services Department, multiple pumping robots, including three known as 'water-pumping dragons' in Chinese, tackled the floods on Tuesday in Pok Fu Lam, Mid-Levels, Admiralty, Kwun Tong, Sha Tin, Sai Kung, Tai Po, Tolo Harbour, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long. The devices operated either in or near the flooded area. They pumped water through a tube measuring about 30cm (one foot) in diameter, passing through the robot and into the nearest storm drain. Department director Ringo Mok Wing-cheong said on Monday that authorities had recently acquired two more 'water-pumping dragons' after earlier purchasing one in April and being impressed by its capacity. Each can pump 800 cubic metres (28,250 cubic feet) of water an hour. The one bought in April was part of four robots, including three that were not 'water-pumping dragons', that have a combined pumping capacity of 2,500 cubic metres an hour – about the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. They were acquired for a total of about HK$3 million (US$386,844). Advertisement According to the department, the robots are smaller and more mobile than traditional pumping machines. They can be used to drain water from roads, villages and underground facilities.
RTHK
10 hours ago
- RTHK
Japan swelters through its hottest day ever
Japan swelters through its hottest day ever People in Tokyo try to find relief amid the heatwave. Photo: AFP Japan recorded its highest-ever temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, prompting the government to advise residents to stay indoors and promise steps to ease weather-related damage to rice crops. Readings in the eastern city of Isesaki, in Gunma prefecture, surpassed the previous high of 41.2 degrees Celsius last week in the western city of Tamba in Hyogo prefecture, the country's meteorological agency said. So far this summer, more than 53,000 people have been taken to hospital for heat stroke, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. "Today is murderously hot," said 63-year-old auto worker Takeshi Ishikawa, who was filling his water bottle at a fountain in central Tokyo. "If it gets to 42 degrees, it would be hotter than my bath that I prepare at 40 degrees." Average temperatures across Japan have continued to climb after marking a record high in July for the third year in a row, while the northeastern region along the Sea of Japan has registered critically low levels of rainfall, raising concerns over the rice harvest. High temperatures have caused a proliferation of stink bugs in some rice-growing areas, even as the government is set to officially adopt a new policy on Tuesday of increased rice production to prevent future shortages. "We need to act with speed and a sense of crisis to prevent damage" from high temperatures, Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a press conference. The government will offer support for pest control and measures to tackle drought, he said. Extreme heat in 2023 had damaged the quality of rice, causing an acute shortage last year that was exacerbated by the government's misreading of supply and demand. That led to historically high prices of the all-important staple food, causing a national crisis. (Reuters)
