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A flat at Wo Tin Estate in Tuen Mun was struck by lightning early yesterday morning when more than 12,000 bolts hit Hong Kong during an amber rainstorm alert.
A video appears to show lightning hitting the 27th-floor flat multiple times at 6.50am.
Nepali Preeti Gurung, the tenant of the flat in Wo Hei House, said she was brushing her daughter’s hair in a bedroom as they prepared to go to school.
They suddenly heard a loud noise and saw a fireball through the window and felt their home shake.
“It was scary,” Gurung said, adding that they ran to the living room. Her husband inspected the outer wall near the window and noticed spalled concrete.
Some web users commented on the “curve” of the lightning, with one saying it “looked as if the God of Thunder came down to the mortal realm.”
Leung Wing-mo, former assistant director of the observatory, explained the phenomenon: “Lightning travels to the ground in sections. The air is charged with electricity and becomes ionised when thunderstorms develop.
“The atmosphere is not uniform. Some parts are more prone to be electrically charged and so it becomes a lightning track, forming a Z shape.”
Lightning rods, which are made of copper, aim to attract nearby lightning and divert it directly to the ground, to protect buildings from being struck.
“The construction materials and structure of modern buildings are of high-quality,” Leung said. “While lightning-protection devices cannot achieve protection at 100 percent, people are safe in their homes.”
He said passengers are also safe in vehicles but advised the public to stay away from windows during thunderstorms. The thunderstorm warning signal started at 3.15am and ended at 9.55am.
Hong Kong was struck 12,367 times by lightning during the period. New Territories West where Tuen Mun is located was struck 2,706 times.
The amber rainstorm warning signal was issued at 5.15am and canceled at 8am.
Peng Chau in Islands district and Tuen Mun district were lashed by heavy rain.
A tree collapsed on a carriageway next to the administration block of Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam. No one was injured and hospital services remained normal.
The tree was removed by the Fire Services Department and the road was later reopened.
The last tree inspections were in March and early May, with no abnormalities found on the fallen tree.
As Typhoon Mawar moves across seas east of Taiwan toward the southern seas of Japan, temperatures will remain high over the next few days. Few showers are expected early next week.
And Hong Kong logged its hottest day of 2023 so far on Wednesday, with temperatures soaring to 34.7 degrees Celsius in urban areas in the afternoon.
Category: Hong Kong
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