Heavy rains hit city following Typhoon Haikui, lawmaker calls for better work arrangement in times of rainstorms
Heavy rains have been pouring down on the city from Friday midnight, causing primary and secondary schools to be suspended.
The latest torrential rain was said to be brought by the trough of low pressure associated with the remnant of Typhoon Haikui, which left a trail of destruction in Taiwan before crossing the strait and making landfall in Fujian province earlier last week.
On Friday 3 p.m., a total rainfall of nearly 200 millimeters was recorded, with the maximum accumulation in one hour being about 51.4 millimeters. There was also slight flooding in many places, and there were landslides on outlying islands, as cited in a report issued by Macao Daily News.
Yesterday at 7 a.m., the yellow rainstorm warning that was issued at 2:20 a.m. was canceled.
As of 5:45 a.m., the hourly rainfall in Taipa and Coloane areas ranged from 23.8 to 31.2 millimeters.
Lawmaker Ella Lei said the guidelines for employees’ arrangements for commuting, leaving work and returning to work are relatively simple, but disputes often arise in practice, especially regarding payment of wages and transportation arrangements.
She called for government review of the implementation of the existing guidelines as soon as possible, further improving and clarifying the content, protecting the safety of employees, and encouraging enterprises to prepare plans and negotiate, as cited in the report.
China’s National Meteorological Center renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms yesterday morning as heavy downpours are expected to lash parts of the country.
From 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. today, heavy rainfall is forecast to hit parts of Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan and Sichuan, according to the meteorological center.
Some areas of the aforementioned regions may experience heavy downpours, with maximum hourly precipitation surpassing 80 millimeters, accompanied by strong convective weather, including thunderstorms and gales.
The center has advised local governments to prepare for rainstorms and asked traffic management authorities to implement appropriate traffic control measures on road sections hit by heavy rainfall.
On Friday, heavy rain in Hong Kong flooded city streets and some subway stations, with hundreds evacuated and two deaths reported.
The Hong Kong Observatory said it recorded 158.1 millimeters of rain in the hour between 11 p.m. Thursday and midnight, the highest recording for a single hour since records began in 1884.
Staff Reporter
