Shenzhen will get no respite from heavy rain this week, weather forecasters said yesterday.

"Today and tomorrow will see continuous rain that is not so heavy as that on the weekend. After tomorrow, there will be showers till the end of the week," said Chen Yuanzhao with the city's observatory. Chen said the amount of rainfall is normal for Shenzhen at this time of the year.

The observatory issued two rainstorm warnings over the weekend but removed them by Saturday afternoon. The disaster relief office asked relevant authorities to brace for rainstorms Saturday evening, after the rain flooded several streets.

On Saturday morning, a Carrefour store on Honggui Road in Luohu District was flooded. Later that day, a 300-meter-long section of Bao'min Road in Bao'an District was flooded with water one meter deep.

Five flights that were supposed to land in Shenzhen landed in Guangzhou instead because of the heavy rain yesterday morning, said a source with the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. The rain also caused the delay of several other flights.

Heavy rain filled major reservoirs with about 5 million cubic meters of water from 8 a.m. Saturday to yesterday noon, which is good news for subdistricts in Longgang and Bao'an suffering from water shortages, said Wang Jindong with the disaster relief office.

Shenzhen has entered its rainy season, which lasts from April 15 to Oct. 15. Dr. Xu Chiduo with the No. 2 People's Hospital reminded rheumatism patients to keep warm when the temperature drops and avoid going out in humid days. The number of outpatients in the rheumatism clinic of the hospital jumped 20 percent in recent days, said Xu.

(Shenzhen Daily May 29, 2006)