Hundreds of angry parents have criticised Hong Kong’s weather forecaster after children were required to attend school during heavy downpours, with many citing flooded streets and difficult commutes following the year’s first red rainstorm warning.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the red rainstorm signal at 2.40am on Thursday as intense rainbands battered the city, followed by a flooding alert for the Northern New Territories. The signal was downgraded to amber at 5.15am, which was later cancelled at 9.30am.
It was the first red rainstorm signal issued this year, warning that rainfall exceeding 50mm per hour had fallen or was expected. It is the middle tier of a three-level warning system, between the amber and black signals.
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According to Education Bureau guidelines, if a red or black rainstorm warning is issued between 5.30am and 6am, morning and whole-day schools must suspend classes for the entire day, while classes proceed as normal when the amber alert is in force.
More than 700 users took to the Observatory’s Facebook page to criticise its decision, as heavy downpours and flooding wreaked havoc in the northern New Territories.
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“I kept an eye on the weather all night, only for them to switch to an amber rainstorm warning at the last minute – you’ve got to be kidding me,” one user said.