This week’s record-breaking deluge may rank among Hong Kong’s costliest natural disasters for insurers, as the owners of cars and properties started to submit claims for damages caused by 11 hours of the highest category of rainstorm.
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The payouts may top the damages caused by last month’s Typhoon Wipha, but will be less than the HK$1.54 billion (US$196.2 million) havoc wrought by the last black rainstorm in September 2023, thanks to the mitigating measures taken by the government and business owners, said Zurich Insurance’s Greater China CEO, Eric Hui.
“We received many claims from car owners due to flooding,” Hui said. “There are also claims from homeowners who suffered losses from the heavy rain.”
Hong Kong received 358.8mm (14 inches) of rainfall on Tuesday, the heaviest precipitation in August since the Hong Kong Observatory began keeping records in 1884. The most severe category of rainstorm warning was in place for 11 hours, second only to the one issued on September 7, 2023, which lasted for 16 hours and 35 minutes.
The downpours triggered 29 floods that were categorised as “significant” and caused 15 landslides in areas such as Tseung Kwan O, Central, the Western District, and Tai Po, with floodwater-submerged vehicles and damage to shops and property across the city.
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