| WEATHER WARNING SYSTEM SIGNAL | ACTION TO BE TAKEN |
| AMBER | All schools and kindergartens operate as usual |
| RED OR BLACK RAIN, TYPHOON 8 or above | |
| (i) Before the start of school | All schools will close for the whole day. If the warning is raised at the time your child sets off for school (s)he should stay at home. |
| (ii) After students have set off for school, but before the commencement of school | Schools will accept those students who arrive, and retain them until it is safe to allow them to proceed home. |
| (iii) When classes are in session | Schools continue until the end of normal hours and students are retained until conditions are safe for them to return home. |
Schools will not allow students to return home, including on a school bus when a Red or Black Warning is issued.
Hong Kong has a sub-tropical climate with distinct seasons. Typhoon season begins in May and ends in November. When a typhoon is approaching, warnings are broadcast on television and radio. There are various degrees of warning signals issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, but when the number 8 signal is in place, most of the city closes down and all schools close. There is a separate warning system for heavy rain.
You can find detailed and up to date weather information on the Hong Kong Observatory Website.
Parents will receive all announcements regarding closures of school due to inclement weather, through the ESF App, which all parents should have downloaded.
The information below outlines inclement weather procedures.
BEFORE SCHOOL
If your child is at home when a Red or Black Rainstorm warning is issued, or a Typhoon 8 is hoisted, parents are asked to keep their children at home for the whole day.
ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL
If the Red or Black Rainstorm warning is issued or a Typhoon 8 is hoisted during the journey to school, the school must close.
- If the child is accompanied by parents/helpers, they should return home.
- If the child is unaccompanied – they should proceed to school. (Parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child as soon as possible.)
- If the child comes on a school bus, the bus mother will send them back to their flat at the point of pick-up.
- If the child has already boarded the bus when the warning is issued, they will be brought to school.
- In these circumstances, parents are asked to collect children as soon as possible. Supervision of children may be seriously limited.
DURING SCHOOL HOURS
- If the Red or Black rainstorm warning is issued during school hours classes will continue until 3pm. School buses will not run and children will remain in school until they are collected by parents (or a nominated adult).
- If your child is at school when a Typhoon 1 or 3 is issued, school will continue as usual, unless advised otherwise by the Education Department.
- If it is announced that a Typhoon 8 will be hoisted before the end of school, parents should arrange for their children to be collected immediately. School buses will not run during a Typhoon 8.
- When severe weather is announced (i.e. Red or Black Rainstorm warning issued or Typhoon 3 or 8 hoisted) tune-in to TV or Radio for latest up-dates. Parents will receive all notices regarding school closures through the ESF App.
After-school clubs and activities will be cancelled following a Red or Black Rainstorm warning.