Local farmers have suffered six-figure losses because of extreme downpours since May, with a farm in northern Hong Kong flooded for seven hours during heavy rain on Sunday.
Leung Yat-shun of Shun Sum Yuen farm in Yuen Long said on Monday that efforts to grow tens of thousands of sunflowers had been a washout since May, with precipitation in July alone having already surpassed typical levels by 23 per cent.
“This year has dealt a severe blow to the farming industry,” Leung said. “It has been a series of either flooding or rain … and it rained for seven hours straight on Sunday.”
Total rainfall of about 50mm was recorded across much of the city between 6am and 1pm under the amber rainstorm signal on Sunday, with North, Yuen Long, Tai Po and Sai Kung districts each recording close to 100mm, the Drainage Services Department said.
Leung’s 300,000 sq ft farm – about the size of four football pitches – grows three batches of sunflowers, each of 30,000 flowers, monthly from May to July and sustains itself by charging visitors a HK$50 entry fee to take photos in the sunflower field.
But frequent downpours during the three summer months had resulted in a HK$300,000 loss for the farm, Leung said.
