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June 27, 2015

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Storms wreak havoc at airports

HEAVY rains and crashing thunder yesterday caused the cancellation of more than 240 flights and delays to 400 others at the city’s two airports.

The Hongqiao airport was the worse hit, with 140 cancelations and more than 250 delays, the Shanghai Airport Authority said.

Several flights were diverted from Hongqiao to Pudong International Airport where conditions were slightly better, though it still had to deal with 100 canceled flights and 150 delays.

The local air traffic controller issued an “orange” alert for flight delays.

According to the Air Traffic Management Bureau of the East China Civil Aviation Administration of China, the flight capacity of the two airports was cut by about 60 percent yesterday.

China Eastern and China Southern airlines issued notices advising all passengers to check the status of their flights before traveling to the airport.

A press officer with China Eastern told Shanghai Daily it had been warned to expect further rainstorms, which would likely affect flights through the night.

The massive downpours that drenched the city yesterday are set to continue through Monday, with up to 80 millimeters of rain expected to fall between last night and today, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.

As of last night, a “blue” alert for heavy rain and “yellow” alert for thunderstorms remained in place, it said.

Yesterday’s wet conditions caused the mercury to plummet from the blistering highs of Thursday to between 23 and 26 degrees Celsius in most parts of the city.

The outlook is likely to be much the same today, forecasters said.

The city’s traffic police deployed 30 percent more officers last night to help keep vehicles moving during the rush hour. Despite the heavy rains, there were no reports of flooding on the elevated highways.

Between 1pm and 5pm, police handled 1,293 traffic accidents and 53 breakdowns, they said.




 

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