Emergency underground shelters have been set up in the city's Minhang District to hold up to 100,000 residents in case of chemical leaks, typhoons or gas explosions, civil defense officials announced yesterday.

About 100 underground shelters have been equipped with first-aid kits, gas-testing devices, gas marks and alarms. Most have been set up so residents can find shelter within 15 minutes of home, said officials.

Construction of the network began early last year when the first community shelter was established in the district's Wanke Community.

Civil defense officials said they spent more than a year on the establishment of the network. "Some underground shelters were built using old civil defense projects, while others were underground spaces at newly built communities, such as parking lots," said an official of the Minhang Civil Defense Office.

The district's Jiangchuan area has 54 shelters in the 27-square-kilometer region, he added.

The city plans to establish a massive underground shelter network that covers more than 16 million square meters.