City braced for flood season’s peak
Print Edition
SHANGHAI entered the most intense period of the annual flood season last weekend — and the city now faces more rainstorms and typhoons than experienced in previous years.
The city’s flood prevention authority said the city will endure more rainfall and “intense convective weathers” until the season ends on September 30.
More typhoons from the Pacific Ocean are likely to move northward to impact Shanghai, said Liu Xiaotao, deputy director of Shanghai Water Authority.
Three typhoons are forecast to hit the city during the flood season.
Flooding is expected to impact Taihu Lake and affect the downtown Huangpu River, said Liu who also serves as the commander of the Shanghai Flood Control Headquarters.
“The headquarters has fully prepared for the most severe flood conditions,” Liu told a press conference.
Yesterday Shanghai had its hottest day so far this year, with temperature reaching 34.1 degrees Celsius.
Despite the heat, rainy and overcast weather will continue to envelope the city until Thursday, with high temperatures around 31 degrees, Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said. The low temperature will be about 26 degrees.
Thunder and rainstorms are likely to come in the afternoons this week along with lightning and gales, said Han Ning, a forecaster with the bureau.
The city is forecast to endure 22 to 28 days with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees over the flood season, compared to 15 such days last summer. The temperature could reach 40 degrees.
Rain totaling about 800 millimeters is forecast during the flood season, compared with an average of 684 millimeters in previous years, the weather bureau said.
Since the flood season started on June 1, the city has been swept by six rainstorms, including one heavy downpour across the city on June 10.
The downtown Xujiahui weather station has recorded a total of 192 millimeters of rainfall between June 1 and 28, 10 percent more than previous years.
The challenge during the flood season this year is there are about 10,000 construction projects across the city, said Wang Mengjiang, executive deputy director with the headquarters.
The major projects include the Beiheng Passage, a 19-kilometer road to link Changning, Putuo, Jing’an, Huangpu, Hongkou and Yangpu districts that is due to be finished in 2019, several new subway lines, some main drainage systems and the project to open a 45km-long continuous riverside area to the public by the end of the year.
Over 60 places of flood prevention walls, dams and pipelines are affected by these construction projects, making them the most vulnerable places during the flood, Wang said.
There are still 135km of sea levees that are leaked or damaged. Some flood prevention walls along Huangpu River need repairing. Over 20 low-lying places in downtown lack effective drainage systems, according to Wang.
To boost safety, the headquarters has appointed anti-flood officials for each district, subdistrict and town to fix weaknesses within their jurisdiction and take personal responsibility for any damage or casualty caused by flooding.
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