WORLD
Nearly 10,000 lightning strikes lash Hong Kong
Majority of the lightning hit Hong Kong’s New Territories East region
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong was lashed by nearly 10,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, according to data from the city’s weather observatory.
Beginning 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, Hong Kong skies put on a flashy display, with the observatory recording 5,914 lightning bolts in a single hour as rain bucketed down.
By 10:59 a.m. on Wednesday, it had recorded 9,437 ground-to-lighting strikes, with the majority hitting Hong Kong’s New Territories East region.
Hong Kong island was the second-largest recipient of strikes, with towering residential buildings lit up by the near-constant bolts.
Tuesday night’s thunderstorm also caused delays at Hong Kong’s international airport, while in the eastern Sai Kung region, violent winds whipped at a Cantonese opera theater made up of bamboo scaffolding, according to video shared on social media.
The observatory said Wednesday that showers and “squally thunderstorms” would continue through the evening and into Thursday.
The city had planned a pyrotechnics show on Wednesday evening to mark 1 May, the start of China’s Golden Week in which Chinese travelers were expected to holiday in Hong Kong.