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Sarika was the first tropical cyclone that necessitated the issuance of a tropical cyclone warning signal by the Hong Kong Observatory in 2011.
Sarika formed as a tropical depression over the central part of the South China Sea about 650 km south-southeast of Dongsha on 9 June and moved northwestwards. It tracked north-northwestwards and intensified into a tropical storm on the morning of 10 June, reaching its peak intensity with an estimated maximum sustained wind of 65 km/h near its centre. Sarika turned to move northwards at about 22 km/h across the northeastern part of the South China Sea that afternoon. It weakened into a tropical depression around dawn on 11 June, making landfall near Shantou that morning and dissipated over Fujian in the afternoon. According to press reports, Sarika brought heavy rain to the Philippines where six people were killed. It also brought rainstorms to eastern Guangdong, bringing damages to crops there. In Fujian, rainstorms associated with the remnant of Sarika triggered landslides, killing seven people. Twenty-two passengers aboard a sight-seeing cruise were also injured over the seas in Taiwan during the passage of Sarika.
In Hong Kong, the Standby Signal No. 1 was issued at 9:40 a.m. on 10 June when Sarika was about 480 km southeast of Hong Kong. Winds in Hong Kong were mainly light to moderate from the southeast that day. At the Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters, the lowest instantaneous mean sea-level pressure of 1001.7 hPa was recorded at 6:06 p.m. that day when Sarika was located about 330 km to the east-southeast. Sarika was closest to Hong Kong at around 3 a.m. on 11 June passing about 280 km to the east-northeast and winds turned to moderate southwesterlies, occasionally gusty that morning. All signals were cancelled at 7:15 a.m. on 11 June as Sarika weakened and crossed the coast about 310 km to the east-northeast of Hong Kong.
The weather was mainly fine and very hot on 10 June. Squally showers affected Hong Kong on the morning of 11 June. There were occasional heavy showers with squally thunderstorms that afternoon and evening. The Amber Rainstorm Warning Signal was issued at 5:50 p.m. that day and was cancelled at 8:05 p.m. More than 50 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over the Lantau Island and parts of the New Territories, with the rainfall at San Tin and northern Lantau exceeding 100 millimetres.
In Hong Kong, a minibus was trapped by flood waters in Lok Ma Chau during the downpour on the afternoon of 11 June. No one was injured during the incident.
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