Hong Kong floods force hospital closures during record rainfall

A pedestrian climbs flooded hospital stairs during heavy rain in Hong Kong, 5 August, 2025.
Reuters

Torrential rain and lightning storms battered Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta on 5 August, causing severe flooding that closed hospitals and schools while turning staircases into rushing waterfalls.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong and nearby high-tech cities in south China’s Pearl River Delta were hit by intense rainfall and nearly 10,000 lightning strikes in just one hour.

Up to 90mm of rain per hour soaked the region, forcing the weather bureau to extend its highest-level 'black' rainstorm warning until mid-afternoon.

Floodwaters inundated Queen Mary Hospital, disrupting emergency services, though drainage teams quickly deployed pumps to ease the flooding.

These storms followed deadly flash floods over the weekend in Guangdong province, which claimed five lives and triggered a massive rescue operation involving more than 1,300 personnel.

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