A thunderstorm delayed more than 70 flights arriving at or departing from Shanghai Friday, the local border checkpoint said.

Strong winds, heavy rain, thunder and hail began to whip Shanghai at about 3 p.m. Friday, delaying more than 40 domestic flights and 30 international fights, mainly from or leaving for Japan, Hong Kong, and the Republic of Korea, at the Pudong and Hongqiao airports, according to the Pudong Border Checkpoint.

The storm abated in the evening and the airports began to resume normal operations at around 8 p.m..

Winds of up to 55 kilometers per hour destroyed a makeshift home in Jiading District, without causing any casualties, according to the city's flood control headquarters.

The storm also cut power for 20 minutes to about 8,000 households in Xuhui District. Changning and Putuo regions registered a maximum rainfall of 30 millimeters per hour.

A severe storm ripped through central China's Henan and Anhui provinces Wednesday evening, leaving 22 dead and 117 injured.

The 50-minute storm, which saw wind speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour as well as hailstones and heavy rain, affected about 3.47 million people in the two provinces.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2009)