Heavy rain lashes city as Typhoon In-Fa nears
Heavy rain in Huaihai Road M. on Saturday.
Shanghai was hit by winds and rainstorms on Saturday due to Typhoon In-Fa.
More than half of the subdistricts and towns in the city received over 25-millimeter rainfall. Among them, 16.3 percent of the city's subdistricts and towns received precipitation reaching 50 millimeters, the city's meteorological bureau said.
The bureau issued a yellow rainstorm alert, the second lowest level of the four-color system, at 8:40am this morning, and upgraded the blue typhoon alert to a yellow one at 1pm, warning the short-term heavy rainfall is expected to reach 50 millimeters with gale-force winds over 24 hours.
At 2pm this afternoon, the meteorological department of the city's coastal Pudong New area updated the typhoon alert to an orange one, the second highest in four-color system.
The eye of In-Fa was about 435 kilometers southeast of Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province, at 9am this morning, packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour, and will move northwest at a speed of about 15 kilometers per hour, according to the National Meteorological Center.
The wind force is expected to increase from tonight. The force of gusts may reach up to 102 to 134 kilometers per hour, strong enough to pull up a tree, according to the bureau.
Pouring rain is expected from Sunday to Monday with temperatures ranging between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius. Today's maximum temperature was 28 degrees, said the bureau.
The city's flood prevention office updated the emergency response level to level three, the second lowest in its four-level system. The blue alert of warning of the high tide of the Huangpu River was also upgraded to yellow one, second lowest in the four-tier system.
Residents are advised to reduce outdoor activities and stay alert.
The typhoon observation team sent by the bureau has arrived at the monitoring point in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, where In-Fa is expected to make landfall, and completed preparatory work, said the bureau.
A mother uses a coat to protect her child from rain.
