1966 Hong Kong rainstorm leaves 64 dead in one of city’s worst floods ever – SCMP archive

This article was first published on June 13, 196636 feared dead in storm horrorAt least 36 people are feared to have died in the fierce floods following one of the worst rainstorms in Hongkong’s history. Last night (June 12, 1966) officials— still working on rescue operations — revealed that 32 people were still missing, and 33 were injured. More than 600 people were rendered homeless by the 78 landslides which occurred.Among the dead are two journalists, Mr John A. Stuart, 31, and Mr Kevin William Murphy, 24, who were washed down the hillside when they were trying to cross a heavily flooded section of Magazine Gap Road. They were members of the editorial Staff of the S.C.M. Post.The rain started on Saturday evening and by Sunday morning was a deluge, turning streets into raging torrents down which cars were swept like toys. Landslides, loosened by the rain, crashed down into several island areas, killing several people, wrecking homes, and blocking roads.A woman falls into the floodwaters at the junction of Third and Centre Street in Sai Ying Pun under heavy rainstorms spread across Hong Kong in June 1966. Photo: Chan KiuThe rainfall for the 24 hours ending at midnight was 15.06 inches, bringing the total since January 1 to 57.47 inches against an average of 29.36 inches.The Royal Observatory reported that 4.36 inches of rain fell between 7 am and 8 am yesterday — the heaviest rainfall ever recorded for any month since observations began in 1884.The greatest daily rainfall ever recorded at the Observatory was 21.02 inches which occurred on July 19, 1926.Underground sewers overflowed and sent huge geysers of flood-water gushing into the already flooded streets.