Shenzhen was hit by heaviest rain since records began in 1952 after the city experienced extremely heavy rainfalls from Thursday evening to Friday morning, said the Shenzhen Meteorological Bureau on Friday.
According to the bureau, four rainfall indexes have reached new records in Shenzhen’s meteorological history since 1952, including the maximum precipitation amounts within two hours (195.8 millimeters), three hours (246.8 millimeters), six hours (349.7 millimeters), and 12 hours (465.5 millimeters).
The continuous rainfall has made the water level of Shenzhen reservoirs close to the flood control limit. Local authorities decided to release the flood waters from 00:15 on Friday with a discharge rate of 70 to 80 cubic meters per second.
According to an official from Shenzhen emergency department, the flood discharge may take 10 hours and will affect the low-lying areas along the Shenzhen River in districts of Luohu and Futian as the water will finally reach Shenzhen Bay along Shenzhen River. The official urged people in the region to stay away from the riverbank areas.
As the heavy rain continues on Friday, Shenzhen has suspended schools across the city from kindergartens to senior high schools, and closed down several subway lines. Working places in the city’s Luohu district have been closed for one day, and residents living in Luohu can suspend work for one day. More than 1,300 people in Shenzhen have been evacuated from 8 pm on Thursday to 6 am on Friday.
The basement entrance and exit of Shenzhen Railway Station (Luohu) were flooded on Friday morning, and won’t able to have passengers in and out before 12:00 on Friday. All buses, taxis, and passenger vehicles in the city will stop services to the station until afternoon.
Multiple inter-city trains from Shenzhen to Guangzhou have been suspended as torrential rain is predicted to hit Guangzhou on Friday. Four districts in Guangzhou have issued a top warning of rain and shut down schools.
In Shenzhen’s neighboring Hong Kong SAR the weather bureau issued the highest “black” rainstorm warning and said that the one-hour rainfall of 158.1 millimeters from 23:00 to 24:00 on Thursday was the highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1884.
The HKSAR government on Friday morning announced the shutdown of schools for a day and suspension of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at least until 18:00 on Friday as torrential rain has led to widespread flooding across the densely packed city.
Some 110 people have been injured during the record-breaking heavy rain in Hong Kong as of 2 pm on Friday, with four of them in a more serious condition, said the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.
According to the HKSAR government, the extreme weather conditions in Hong Kong are expected to persist until at least midnight on Friday.
(Global Times)
