Early this morning heavy rain, and drains blocked with leaves and debris from the typhoon, caused flooding along Clear Water Bay Road near the junction with Hiram’s Highway.
Over 20 mm of rain fell between 3:00 – 4:00 am, which was not able to drain away owing to blocked drains. It accumulated in the low lying parts of the junction, mainly in the direction going to Kowloon. About 50 m of the road was flooded to a depth of about 30 cm. Two taxis, one after another, drove into the flood and both suffered engine failure.
Another car, a Mercedes Benz, was also caught in the flooding on a different section of the junction. Firemen arrived at the scene to help the drivers climb out of the cars, and there were no injuries.
One taxi driver said he saw another taxi stopped on the road but did not notice the road in front of that car was flooded. He carried on moving, but to his surprise, found himself in the middle of the flood too, and his engine stopped.
The Mercedes Benz driver said he was driving to his morning swim after the rain had stopped, and, although he saw the road was flooded, did not think it too deep as he drove along that way every day. Sometimes there was water on the road but it had caused no problems before. It was deeper than he expected and his car stalled as well. He said he’d missed his morning swim as he had to wait for the tow truck!
The rain was also blamed for an accident in Tseung Kwan O, near the swimming pool around 3:15 am. Two men were injured when their red Subaru flipped over after hitting road signs and a bus stop coming to rest by the side of the road. Both are in hospital with injuries to their heads, hands and feet. The driver passed a breathalyser test. Police are investigating the incident.
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