Dragon boat rain arrives in Guangzhou

Torrential rain overnight and flooding in some areas forced the temporary closure of schools in the Huangpu and Zengcheng districts of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Friday.

By 11 am, 164 bus routes and 38 bus terminals in the city were affected.

The heavy downpour, known as dragon boat rain — a reference to precipitation around the Dragon Boat Festival and covering the period near the summer solstice (between May 21 and June 20) — has started to hit Guangdong.

On Friday, subway Line 13 was suspended, and some trains serving Guangzhou Railway Station and Guangzhou East Railway Station were delayed.

Guangzhou averaged 92.3 mm of precipitation between 8 pm on Thursday and 7:25 am on Friday. Huangpu and Zengcheng districts were hit hardest, according to the city's meteorological observatory.

A monitoring station near Yonggang Primary School in Huangpu district recorded 370.1 mm of rainfall during the period.

All storm alerts had been canceled in Guangzhou as of 10:30 am on Friday. Heavy rain is forecast again for Monday and Tuesday in Guangzhou.