Torrential rain swept through Shanghai on Monday, causing flight delays and flooding more than 60 downtown roads.

Thunderstorms began at about 6?AM in downtown Shanghai, and local weather and flood offices issued numerous warnings of potential hazards, officials said.

The Tianli area of Xuhui District had the most rain, measured at 143 mm by 8 a.m., and average rain totals in seven other districts exceeded 50 mm.

The rain far exceeded the drainage capacity of 27 mm to 36 mm per hour, leading to flooding of more than 60 roads and more than 100 homes. Several flyovers were closed temporarily.

More than 600 drainage workers were dispatched to open up the drains, and most flooded roads were cleared of ponding.

An official with the Shanghai Airlines Co. said the downpours affected arriving and departing flights at its two airports -- Hongqiao and Pudong. At Hongqiao alone, a dozen flights were postponed or diverted.

The official added that with the storms persisting, it was very hard to predict when normal operations could resume.

A spokesman at the Shanghai Municipal Weather Observatory said the excessive rain was caused mainly by weather phenomena known as an upper trough and a near-land stationary front.

The remnants of Typhoon Nuri, which made landfall in south China's Guangdong Province late last Friday, also had an indirect role, said the spokesman.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2008)