inclement weather

Inclement weather in Hong Kong occasionally results in campus closures or delayed openings. If inclement weather requires HKA to close campus or delay opening, parents will be notified via SMS. The school uses parents' mobile numbers of record. Parents are responsible for making sure that they have provided the school with the correct mobile number. Each individual parent should inform the school of his/her mobile number.

In addition to SMS notifications, relevant information will be emailed to parents and/or students.

SIGNAL	ACTION	REMARKS
Signal 8 / Black or Red Rain	Campus closed to students. In the event of a Signal 8/Black Rain on the weekend, activities will be cancelled.	For all classes, before school starts If a T8 / Black or Red Rain signal is raised before school, HKA will make every effort to notify parents by 6am about a campus closure for the entire school. For all classes, during school hours If the signal is raised during the school day and the school is required to close campus, students will remain on campus until it is safe to dismiss them. Parents will be alerted by SMS about next steps. When there is a very strong likelihood that a T8 is imminent, the school may decide to close campus early. In that event, every effort will be made to send students home via their regular mode of transportation or will remain on campus until parents can make other arrangements.
Signal 3	For Playgroup and Pre-K All classes cancelled. In the event of a weekend T3, Playgroup and Pre-K activities may be cancelled.	For Playgroup and Pre-K If a T3 is raised before school, HKA will make every effort to notify parents by 6am about a school closure. If the signal is lowered by 8am, families are welcome to come to school via their own transportation. If the signal is raised during the school day, parents will be alerted by SMS about next steps. For Primary & Secondary School School will operate as normal unless otherwise stated.
Signal 1	HKA will operate as normal.

Parents are also encouraged to visit the Hong Kong Observatory website for weather information and the Hong Kong Education Bureau website for details regarding school closures.

*When consulting the Education Bureau's website, please be aware that the term “kindergarten" on the Education Bureau's website applies to Playgroup and Pre-K ONLY at Hong Kong Academy.

Hong Kong Education Bureau Announcements

In some situations, the Education Bureau (EdB) can make additional specific decisions with regard to school opening times and closures for the safety of students. HKA adhere to the announcements made by the EdB.

School Bus Procedure During Weather Warnings

Please note that the school bus provider will decide whether or not the bus service will run based solely on information published by the Hong Kong Education Bureau. HKA do not have any influence on this decision. During a weather warning, school bus updates will be messaged to the relevant parents via the channels mentioned above.

ASA Procedure During Weather Warnings

Specific information will be shared to various groups regarding ASA inclement weather procedures.

Notification App

Government Notifications (GovHK): Users can customise the HK Government notifications they receive such as Education Department Bureau, HK Observatory and HK Air Pollution alerts.
Apple Android

USEFUL Websites

HK Education Bureau
HK Observatory

Hong Kong Government Definitions:

amber alert

Indicates that 50mm of rain or more is expected over Hong Kong during the next 6 hours or so.

red alert

Indicates that 50mm of rainfall has been recorded generally over Hong Kong during any 1 hour period or less. Further heavy rain could cause widespread road flooding and traffic congestion.

black alert

Indicates that more than 100mm of rain has fallen in the past two hours or less. Because of widespread road flooding and serious traffic congestion, residents will be advised to stay at home or take shelter in a safe place until the rainstorm has passed and road conditions have improved.

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