The financial hub has suspended school classes and opened temporary shelters, and some hospital services have also been affected.
The city's weather observatory hoisted the "black" rainstorm warning -- meaning downpours exceeding 70 millimetres in an hour -- late on Monday and again in pre-dawn hours.
On Tuesday morning the city's weather observatory warned there could be "severe flooding", adding that hourly rainfall had already exceeded or was expected to exceed 100 millimetres in some regions.
Images circulated on social media showed cars nearly submerged at an outdoor parking lot in the eastern Tseung Kwan O district.
Emergency room service at the Queen Mary Hospital was affected due to "severe flooding" on some roads, health authorities said.
Public transport slowed to a crawl in some districts and a handful of subway station exits have been closed, according to local media.
Eighteen cases of flooding have been identified as of Tuesday morning, according to the Drainage Services Department, adding that 11 had been resolved.
Neighbouring Chinese tech hub Shenzhen issued the "red" rainstorm warning on Tuesday, the first time since 2018, according to media reports.
Tuesday's "black" rainstorm warning in Hong Kong was the fourth in the span of just over a week, beating the previous record of three such warnings in a year.
Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.
China is the world's biggest emitter, though it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2060.
Torrential rain in Taiwan kills five over past week
Taipei (AFP) Aug 4, 2025 -
Storms dumped more than two metres of rain in parts of Taiwan over the past week, killing five people and triggering floods and landslides in central and southern areas, authorities said Monday.
Torrential rain has lashed swathes of the island since July 28, forcing several thousand people to seek shelter, damaging roads, and shuttering offices.
Maolin, a mountainous district in southern Taiwan, recorded more than 2.8 metres (nine feet) of rain since July 28, the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
That's more than Taiwan's annual rainfall of 2.1 metres last year, according to the agency's data.
It was the first time since 1998 that "Taiwan has seen seven consecutive days each with over 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rainfall," said Chen Yi-liang, director of CWA's weather forecasting centre.
The unusually heavy downpours were caused by a low-pressure system and strong southwesterly winds, CWA forecaster Li Ming-siang told AFP.
"The southwesterly winds have brought heavy moisture from the South China Sea to Taiwan," Li said.
Li said southwesterly winds were normally brought by typhoons affecting the island and seasonal rain in May and June.
This time it was caused by Typhoon Co-May pushing southwesterly winds further north as it swept past eastern Taiwan on its way to China, Li said, adding the rain was not linked to climate change.
The average rainfall across the island last month was the highest for the month of July since 1939, the CWA said.
The torrential rain follows Typhoon Danas, which hit Taiwan in early July.
Two people were killed and hundreds injured as the storm dumped more than 500 millimetres of rain across the south over a weekend.
"We rarely encounter a disaster of this scale," Premier Cho Jung-tai said during a visit to a flood-hit area in the southern Tainan City on Monday.
"From Typhoon Danas up to now, we've faced nearly a month of continuous and heavy rainfall."
The week of bad weather left five people dead, three missing, and 78 injured, a disaster official said.
Nearly 6,000 people were forced to leave their homes.
The state weather forecaster expects the rain to ease in the coming days.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
Vietnam flooding death toll rises to 10
Hanoi (AFP) Aug 3, 2025 -
The death toll from floods in Vietnam's mountainous north has risen to 10, disaster authorities said Sunday.
Heavy rain led to flooding in recent days in the provinces of Son La, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang and especially Dien Bien, isolating several communities.
The agriculture ministry confirmed 10 people were killed and seven others injured in Dien Bien province's Tia Dinh and Xa Dung communes.
State media quoted local authorities as saying rain was heavy from Thursday to Saturday, triggering flash floods.
On Saturday, local authorities deployed helicopters to access isolated communities and deliver basic necessities.
Residents were relocated to safe areas while electricity and telecommunication services were mostly restored by Sunday evening.
Late July, similar flash floods claimed five lives in Son La province, inundating crops and washing away poultry and cattle.
Vietnam is now in its tropical storm season, which often causes deadly floods and landslides.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
In September 2024, Typhoon Yagi devastated northern Vietnam, killing 345 people and causing an estimated economic loss of $3.3 billion.
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