Flights canceled, houses collapse as massive rainstorm hits Beijing

BEIJING (AFP) Jul 11, 2004
Flights were canceled and houses collapsed after the Chinese capital Beijing experienced a rainstorm of unusual severity, state media reported Sunday.

In the course of just a few hours late Saturday, 73 millimeters (three inches) of rain hit downtown, forcing traffic to grind to a halt and causing severe congestion in key parts of the city, the Xinhua news agency reported.

As of 9:30 pm (1330 GMT), more than 200 flights scheduled for take-off from Beijing International Airport had been delayed, according to reports.

Six houses collapsed, and two people were injured when the freak weather caused an electricity pole to topple, Xinhua said.

Putting a positive spin on the near-chaotic scenes throughout the city, meteorologists said the heavy rainfall was "somewhat good" since Beijing had experienced below-average precipitation in the preceding days.

TERRA.WIRE