Hong Kong issues amber rainstorm warning as thundery showers lash city

The Hong Kong Observatory issued an amber rainstorm warning signal at 3pm on Sunday, warning of widespread heavy rain and intense gusts as the city continued to face a rainy weekend.

The forecaster on Sunday afternoon said that heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall over the city, with rates exceeding 30mm [1.2 inches] in an hour, and that it was likely to continue.

It urged residents to avoid areas prone to flooding and take necessary precautions against impending showers.

It also issued a thunderstorm warning signal at 12.30pm.

The Observatory on Saturday issued a red warning and three amber alerts during the day.

Between 9am and 11am on Saturday, the Observatory recorded more than 5,700 lightning strikes, of which 1,810 were cloud-to-ground, with the rest classified as cloud-to-cloud.