Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

TORRENTIAL rain and flooding in some areas closed schools, halted trains and worsened traffic during the morning rush hour in Shenzhen yesterday.

The city recorded an average rainfall of 60 millimeters and the meteorological observatory issued a red alert in eastern Dapeng yesterday afternoon.

The heavy downpour, known as “dragon boat rain” — a reference to precipitation around the Dragon Boat Festival and covering the period near the summer solstice (between May 21 and June 20) — has started to hit the city.

The accumulative rainfall in Xiaomo Township in Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone reached 510.6 millimeters, a new record in the zone’s meteorological history. The maximum 1-hour precipitation reached 139.1 millimeters, ranking 2nd in Shenzhen’s meteorological history.

Starting from 7 a.m. yesterday, a dozen of the city’s arterial roads were congested due to flooding. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., police received 1,090 congestion reports, more than double the number of the previous Monday.

Amid the heavy rain and serious congestion on Longgang Boulevard, an expectant mother was experiencing an emergency. She was sent by traffic police on motorbike to the hospital while going into labor, according to Yue Weikang, deputy section chief of Shenzhen Traffic Police Commanding Department.

Shenzhen North Railway Station yesterday halted 11 trains due to the heavy rain.

“Many trains between Wuhan and Guangzhou and between Xiamen and Shenzhen were delayed. Affected passengers can get refunds within 30 days without any charges,” Zhou Yanchen, on-duty chief of Shenzhen North Railway Station, said yesterday.

The observatory lowered the alert in Dapeng later in the afternoon yesterday, but reminded residents to stay away from low-lying areas, slopes and trenches and to be aware of secondary disasters.

“Shenzhen had recorded three days of heavy rain, so there is a high risk of geographic disaster,” said Chen Qian, an engineer with Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory.

The observatory estimated another round of heavy rain would affect the city today, but the rain will weaken starting tomorrow.