HLM -Chapter 830 The Violent Storm Never Stops

A tropical cyclone is a low-pressure system formed over warm ocean waters, with extremely active air currents inside it. Cyclones formed in the Southern Hemisphere rotate clockwise, and their maximum wind speed can exceed 200 kilometers per hour!

Its moving speed was also very fast. As soon as the sky brightened in the morning, it immediately started raining.

Unlike previous rains, this one didn’t begin with light drizzle that gradually intensified—this time, the sky suddenly opened up and poured down in a torrential downpour!

“Luckily, it’s just heavy rain and not strong winds.” Kidd breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the heavy curtain of rain outside the office. He had been making the sign of the cross over his chest repeatedly just moments before.

But not even half an hour after he said that, the belated strong winds finally arrived. And just like the sudden rain, when the wind reached Sunset Town, it came as a violent gale. The row of young trees in front of the government building was nearly snapped in half!

“F—k, you jinxed it!” Wang Bo couldn’t help swearing.

Kidd blinked awkwardly and argued, “Boss, how can you blame me? It’s basic knowledge that tropical cyclones come with strong winds. Even if I said nothing, the wind would still have come.”

Wang Bo couldn’t be bothered to argue further.

The fierce wind swept the pouring rain, slamming violently against the glass windows with bang bang sounds, as though someone were pounding on them. The momentum was terrifying.

Wang Bo looked outside. Because of the rainstorm, visibility was extremely low—maybe not even one or two meters ahead. All he could see was a white curtain of water.

Conely fiddled with the computer and said, “Lorina is really a bad-tempered girl. Storm surge has already appeared along the coast.”

Tropical cyclones bring strong winds and heavy rainfall, causing severe flooding. In more serious areas, vegetation can be heavily damaged, leading to mountain floods and mudslides.

Although New Zealand is at a higher latitude and not a cyclone-prone region, it is still an island country. Every year, both New Zealand’s mainland—especially the North Island—suffers several tropical cyclone strikes.

While their destructive power isn’t as strong as near the equator, every year the news reports cyclones landing and destroying houses, damaging roads, power lines, sewage pipelines, and other infrastructure.

For coastal cities, the damage is even greater. The giant waves generated by hurricanes can overturn moored ships and vessels near the coast. When these waves crash ashore, they can cause severe coastal erosion.

But these aren’t even the most dangerous effects—the most destructive threat comes from storm surges.

Once a storm surge occurs, it raises the sea level, causing saltwater to pour into low-lying coastal areas and submerge them for extended periods.

Seawater contains salt, which can destroy building structures, corrode steel and other metals, and also devastate local vegetation.

Hearing Conely’s words, Wang Bo sighed. Christchurch suffered quite a serious blow this time.

The violent winds and rain raged continuously from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunset Town felt like a punching bag being pounded by a heavyweight boxer, swaying and trembling under the storm’s assault.

Seeing the rain still pouring non-stop, Wang Bo became worried about the drainage system. He took Uncle Bing and Atulu out to inspect the drainage situation.

Elizabeth handed them raincoats, but Atulu pushed them aside and said boldly, “What raincoat? Shorts and a bare chest—that’s the best way to greet a storm!”

The writer Hill beside him looked shocked. “Buddy, since when did you become so macho?”

Wang Bo said, “Enough with the motivational nonsense. Just put on the damn raincoat.”

Atulu explained, “Boss, what’s the point of a raincoat? Trust me, I have experience—weather like this is best faced half-naked.”

Uncle Bing shrugged. “This time, I’m siding with Atulu. He’s right.”

There was no time to argue. Wang Bo nodded, took off his shirt, and reached to push open the door.

But even with his superhuman strength, he could not push the door open!

The wind outside was too strong—southerly winds—pressing directly against the door.

Kidd and the others came to help. Almost every man in the government building joined in. It wasn’t that it required so many people to open the door—the hard part was being able to close it again slowly under such intense wind.

Otherwise, a single gust could slam the door so hard it would shatter.

They finally forced the door open and stepped outside. The wind and rain lashed against their bodies like whips, making their entire bodies sting with pain.

Atulu was right—any protective gear was useless. With winds this strong, a raincoat would probably be torn away instantly—maybe even blow the person away along with it.

From inside the office, visibility had been bad, but outside it was far worse. Water was rushing through the streets like a river, reaching up to their knees.

Uncle Bing shouted something to Wang Bo, but with the wind and rain so loud, Wang Bo could only see his mouth moving—he couldn’t hear a thing.

Although the rainwater was heavy, it hadn’t overwhelmed the town’s drainage system yet. Wang Bo felt grateful for the Lake’s Heart system—because the backup route for draining water led to the lake.

He had invested heavily in the drainage system. Domestic sewage first went into an underground storage tank, and if the tank exceeded capacity, the overflow would be discharged into Lake Hawea.

This second option existed precisely for extreme rainfall conditions like this.

After a simple inspection, the group fled back into the office building.

The weather outside was too terrible. Staying even a second longer would put their lives at risk.

As soon as the three of them pulled the door shut, a muffled bang echoed as the wind slammed into it, causing the windows and glass panes to shudder violently. Fortunately, none of them broke.

“Sh*t! What a goddamn weather!” Atulu cursed loudly the moment they stepped inside.

Uncle Bing said, “Boss, this disaster is really serious. I think we need to prepare an evacuation plan.”

“That serious?”

“Better safe than sorry. And for some buildings out there, evacuation might already be necessary.”

Sunset Town had many modular homes, and those kinds of structures really struggled against extreme weather.

Wang Bo wanted to make some calls, but he found he had no signal. Conely said, “Probably about an hour ago, the nearest signal tower went down. I’m guessing the cables got torn by the wind. Both the stations in Oak City and Cromwell are down—they’re being repaired.”

“If you need to send notifications, use our online forum. Everyone’s talking about this damned weather right now.”

Wang Bo checked the forum and felt an unprecedented sense of gratitude for building the smart-city network system. The network base stations were still functional, and internet access remained available.

The town’s overall situation wasn’t too bad—several houses had wind and water leaks, and some had shattered windows, but so far no roofs had blown off, nor had any houses been completely swept away.