Officials raise flood emergency response level

Shanghai's flood prevention office raised its emergency response level from four to three at 10:05am on Monday due to heavy precipitation. According to the office, total rainfall in the following 6 hours is expected to reach more than 80 millimeters.

The current emergency response was initiated on Sunday morning with a level-four warning. So far, this is the longest emergency response of this year's flood season.

Jiading, Minhang and Jinshan Districts are the city's main water-logged areas. Among local measuring stations, data from the G15 Dazhan Road Tunnel indicated 37 centimeters of rainfall by 10:11am, while Chongming Gangxi Town had received 80.5 millimeters.

Emergency plans for water removal have been implemented, including the use of mobile pump trucks and drainage controls.

The office also reminds local departments to pay attention to key areas such as communities, roads, underpasses, low-lying areas and construction sites.

Ten of the city’s underpasses had water levels above 25 centimeters on Monday morning due to the rain. Those affected are located in Jiading, Minhang and Jing’an districts. These underpasses were temporarily closed to traffic as emergency crews arrived to drain the water.

By noontime, the underpasses had reopened as the rain subsided.