HONG KONG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), announced the activation of mobilization protocol for civil servants to conduct at full steam relief work following extensive flooding caused by torrential rain, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said on Saturday.

Following the end of "extreme conditions", the HKSAR government promptly mobilized a quick response unit comprising about 250 civil servants from different departments to provide support in the North District of Hong Kong.

Supporting members arrived at Ma Mei Ha in Fanling, Lo Wu Station Road and Lee Uk Village in Ta Kwu Ling separately to carry out clean-up work. They also provided assistance to residents who stayed at a temporary shelter in Luen Wo Hui, Fanling.

Lee on Saturday inspected Ma Mei Ha Tsuen to learn about the progress of relief work after torrential rain and showed support for supporting members. He then visited people who were staying at the temporary shelter in the Luen Wo Hui Community Hall to learn more about their needs.

Lee thanked all supporting members and colleagues from relevant departments for their wholehearted efforts in relief work. He said that the torrential rain has caused flooding in extensive parts of the city and landslides. Various districts were faced with extreme conditions.

Lee has instructed all departments to make all-out efforts to assist members of the public in need. He stressed that the HKSAR government will continue to strive to handle relief work with every effort possible to ensure that people's daily lives could be fully resumed as early as possible.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a black rainstorm warning signal on Thursday evening, which was downgraded to a yellow rainstorm warning signal on Friday afternoon. The black signal had been in effect for over 16 hours, making it the longest recorded duration in Hong Kong.

During the rainstorm, severe flooding and landslides occurred in various areas of Hong Kong. In Shek O, the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island, landslides and collapses of roads caused by rainstorm disrupted land transport and communications networks, and led to shortages of supplies in the area. The HKSAR government used boats to evacuate about 200 local residents and arranged for them to move into temporary shelter centers.

On Saturday, rain weakened significantly, with public transport basically resumed, and people returned to normal life generally.

As of 8:15 a.m. local time on Saturday, 153 people were injured in the rainstorm and sent to the hospital. Enditem

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