Schools, subways disrupted as storm batters China’s south

BEIJING: On Friday, September 8, all schools, some underground stops, and workplaces in Shenzhen, a city in southern China, were closed due to Typhoon Haikui‘s lingering storm clouds, which caused historic rainfall for the third day.

The key and southwest regions of Guangdong, the capital of Shenzhen and one of China’s wealthiest regions, will continue to experience heavy rainfall until early on Saturday, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

In Shenzhen, a city of 17.7 million people, residents holding onto health lines slowly navigated knee-deep floodwaters late on Thursday, according to videos from state-backed Xinhua.

According to the movies, volunteers also cordoned off overflowing manholes, helped stranded children, and showed other people how to maneuver their scooters through the choppy waters.

The amount of rain that fell in Shenzhen over a 12-hour interval was 465.5mm, the highest amount since records started in 1952. According to Shenzhen advertising, normal rain in the Pearl River Delta town, which connects Hong Kong to China’s island, was anticipated to reach 500mm.

Before moving west to Guangdong on Thursday, Typhoon Haikui made land in the southeast Fujian state on Tuesday and suffered economic loss of about US$ 691 million. It has been reclassified as a tropical despair.

Even so, Shenzhen’s centre has issued emergency alerts advising locals to be inside. The downpours were sudden and severe.