Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    TORRENTIAL rain during the rush hour in Shenzhen yesterday morning caused floods in 72 places, slowed down traffic on major roads and delayed hundreds of flights.

    The downpour pushed the Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Observatory to raise a yellow alert to orange in Bao’an District, the second-highest in a four-level warning system, at around 6:15 a.m.

    The Xixiang Observatory Station recorded a maximum rainfall of 123 millimeters. The average rainfall in the whole city reached 73 millimeters, the Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Observatory said.

    The Chuangye Overpass area and Xixiang section of 107 National Highway in Bao’an District and Guanguang Road in Guangming New Area were seriously flooded. The traffic was disrupted and firefighters had to use inflatable rafts to evacuate people, Huang Hao, section chief of Shenzhen traffic police commanding center, said.

    Traffic resumed around 10:30 a.m., but the traffic was very slow between Nantou Checkpoint and Chuangye Overpass, Huang said.

    Shenzhen traffic police responded to around 72 places that were flooded by rain.

    “Police towed 16 vehicles that were flooded and 46 issues with drains were handled in a timely manner, so there was no serious congestion despite the flood slowing down the city’s traffic,” Wang Haiming, chief-on-duty at Shenzhen traffic police commanding center, said.

    The parts of the city’s most heavily affected area included Guangming New Area, Guanlan in Longhua New Area, and Longgang, Bao’an and Nanshan districts.

    Shenzhen International Airport issued an orange alert for flight delays at 9 a.m.

    By 10 a.m., Shenzhen Airlines had canceled 34 flights departing from Shenzhen and Guangzhou and more than 60 flights were delayed. The delayed flights were handled in the afternoon.

    “By 5 p.m., more than 500 flights departing from and arriving at the Shenzhen airport had been handled, accounting for two-thirds of the flights today,” said Xu Meng, manager-on-duty at the operation center of the Shenzhen airport.

    The Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Observatory canceled the orange alert at noon. The rain is expected to end today. It will be cloudy with occasional showers between Thursday and Sunday, when the 12th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair will be held.