Traffic was brought to a standstill on major roads as heavy downpours hit the Guangdong provincial capital on Tuesday.
Changban Station on the city’s Metro Line 6 was flooded, and passengers had to take off their shoes and wade to the platform. Personnel from the Guangzhou Bureau of Water Conservancy had to use water pumps to ensure safe operation of the metro. Other stations were also flooded.
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Feng Dazhi, a white collar worker, said he had to drive more than three hours to reach his office in the Guangzhou Development Zone, about 40 kilometers from his home in the downtown area, due to traffic jams caused by the heavy rainfall on Tuesday morning. “It usually takes about 40 minutes when traffic on Guangyuan Road is smooth,” Feng told China Daily.
Many vehicles were seen flooded and broken down, and many trees were blown down along the road, he added.
Baiyundadao Road and other major streets in the southern metropolis were also reported to be experiencing heavy traffic, according to the Guangzhou traffic police department.
Many streets downtown were flooded, with water reaching more than 1 meter in some sections.
At Guangzhou Baiyun international airport, more than 40 flights were cancelled while another 70 were delayed, with many passengers stranded in the airport, according to an official from the airport on Tuesday.
“Some of the flights had been delayed for more than 12 hours by Tuesday evening,” said the official, who did not want to be named.
The Guangzhou meteorological department issued a storm alert as the city recorded rainfall of more than 70 millimeters from 4 pm Monday to 8:30 am Tuesday.
