Blackened skies unleashed record-breaking rains on Hong Kong and the high-tech cities surrounding South China's Pearl River Delta on Tuesday, disrupting hospitals and shuttering schools and law courts across the Asian financial hub.

Heavy rains have forced the closure of hospital wards, schools, and the jurisdiction’s courts and register offices.

Record-setting rain has brought chaos to parts of Hong Kong, with submerged streets, stranded buses and landslides. Residents were advised to avoid going out.