Storms prompt code red alert
- Source: Global Times
- [15:09 August 18 2010]
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Strong winds knock down trees on Shangnan Road in Pudong New Area near the Expo Park during the heavy rainstorms Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Cai Xianmin
By Craig Curtis, Zhou Ping and Duan Wuning
For the first time in over a year the most severe code red weather alert was issued by local weather authorities Tuesday, due to heavy torrential rains that battered the city and caused pavilion closures at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau gave the warning for the strong rainstorms at 3:40 pm, which swept the city, affecting road, sea and air travel passengers.
From 1 pm to 4 pm Tuesday afternoon, the largest precipitation in the city was collected in downtown Jing'an Park, with some 89.6 millimeters, according to the weather bureau.
It was Jing'an district that saw the heaviest rains fall in its neck of the woods Tuesday, receiving some 88 millimeters, while other downtown areas were hit with at least 70 millimeters of rainwater.
Though it was not the biggest rainfall of the year, it was the heaviest in the span of hours this year, said local authorities.
The southeasterly winds that hit the city were strong enough to help cool the air, reducing temperatures in downtown areas and northern city districts from as high as 34 C to as low as 25 C.
According to local authorities, the code red warning is seldom used, and the last time it was given for heavy rains was last year on June 30.
Battered by the heavy storms, the poor weather conditions wreaked havoc on pavilions at the Expo Park, several of which were forced to close temporarily out of concerns for visitor safety.
Among the afternoon closures was the popular UK Pavilion, and later the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion, which shut down after 4 pm when their structure suffered interior damages from leakages resulting from the storms.
Visitors were meanwhile left sopping wet looking for cover, while Expo officials worked to clear elevating water levels from the park grounds.
According to Xi Qunfeng, director of the construction department for the Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau, four water pump stations scattered around the park were put into full gear, pumping some 60 cubic meters of water per second into the Huangpu River to keep puddles to a minimum inside the park.
