Worker killed as wild storm rocks the city

By Lu Feiran  |   2008-7-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Rainbows hang over the skyscrapers in downtown Shanghai yesterday after thunder and rain hit the city in the afternoon. Shanghai is expected to swelter for 16 to 22 days this summer when maximum temperatures top 35 degrees Celsius, according to weathermen. Last year, the city experienced 30 such hot days. Meanwhile, this year's plum rain season, which began on June 7, is predicted to end tomorrow. More in photo gallery

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THE city had a roller-coaster day of weather yesterday, with an afternoon gale and thunderstorm killing a man and injuring four others.

A two-story building collapsed in Qingpu District, burying five construction workers in debris. Yue Hongbo, from Henan Province, died in hospital but doctors said the other four were not seriously hurt.

The atrocious weather also caused an hour-long power cut on the railway linking Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.

Shanghai can expect at least five days of scorchers from tomorrow when the plum rain season ends.

That was the prediction yesterday by forecasters, who said maximum temperatures during the heat wave would reach 37 to 38 degrees Celsius.

Forecasters predict that this summer the city will have 16 to 22 days when the maximum temperature is above 35 degrees. Last year there were 30 such days.

The maximum temperature in the summer season may reach 38 to 39 degrees, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

The city may suffer fallout from typhoons in the last 10 days of this month until the end of August. Forecasters said three typhoons were expected to affect Shanghai.

Yesterday the maximum temperature reached 35.3 degrees for the second day in a row.

In the afternoon, the thunderstorm hit the city, causing a rapid drop in temperature. At 5pm, the mercury at Xujiahui dropped to 25 degrees.

A billboard at the intersection of Xizang Road and Jinling Road M. was blown down by the gale, and two work sheds collapsed on Yuanjiang Road, briefly trapping four workers.

As Shanghai will host parts of the soccer matches of the 2008 Beijing Olympics from August 7 to 22, the weather bureau has set up an emergency-weather observation system to ensure the accuracy of forecasts.

"Lightning tends to hit the city in July and August, and there is a possibility of a thunderstorm hitting during a match," said Tang Xu, director of the bureau.