Shanghai's overworked drains, as usual, were caught napping as' the downpour got well under way and along Nanking Road there were the usual flood seenes in the vicinity of the Wing On company where buses, trams, cars and rickshaws splashed their' way through water, which covered the whole roadway and pavements from Chekiang Road to as far as the entrance to the Oriental Motel.
"The big question here was how to get to the tram stop in the centre of the road without getting wet. This was an impossibility and so propriety was east to the winds as shoes and stockings came off, and 15 were rolled up. prior to stepping into the muddy brown water, which swirled here and there as a passing vehicle drove through amid clouds of spray.
'Once on the island, however, many of those who had remained fairly dry @uring the journey across the road, found' out that their troubles had just begun. It was rather unfortun~ ate that they had given little thought to the huge showers of water thrown ing vehicles and, as the and cars came by, they were in splashed from head {0 foot, with no avenue of escape, by spray after spray coming from the wheels of the various vehicles.
Sports ost Along Chekiang Road and on all the side streets in the vicinity of the Sincere Ca. the same conditions were to be seen. Here the only safe method of transport was by rickshaws, the pullers of which, for a change, were able to dictate their own terms as they bandied words with members of both sexes standing ankle deep in dirty water. As walking was an impossibility they had no trouble in finding passengers.
All outdoor sports were, of course, out of the question. 'The Racecourse, popular rendezvous of Shanghai sporting enthusiasts, except for a few coolies, who waded their way through small lakes of water, was. entirely deserted. As on the roadway the rain had not' drained away, the pavilion of the Police Recreation Club being hemmed in on all sides by water, And so it was in many districts of Shanghai yesterday, other points suffering from the heavy downpour including Vu Yuen Road, Bubbling Well and Tifeng Roads and Great Western Road, where the water reached the gates of the RASE. @etachment at Ash Camp, and' many parts of the French Concession, the Cathay Mansions being practically fsolatea until dinner time, Precautions Taken for
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.