Capital at standstill as deluge soaks rush hour

A sudden deluge flooded the capital last night during rush hour, with water paralyzing many of the city's roads, subways and airports and challenging the city's drainage system.

According to a statement issued by the National Meteorological Center, the storm drenched most parts of the capital with 51 millimeters of precipitation by 6 p.m. Some areas such as Wukesong and Zizhuyuan in Haidian District received more than 100 millimeters.

"Precipitation in Shijingshan District reached 165 millimeters by 5:30 p.m.," said an engineer of the meteorological center, “Light rains were expected to continue this morning."

A commuter's nightmare

What would normally have been a bright summer afternoon turned dim at about 3 p.m. yesterday, as dark rain clouds closed in with roaring thunder and flashes of lightning. Heavy rain soon followed, becoming a nightmare for commuters.

Many people were caught unprepared and faced severe inconvenience as they found out that not only the streets were flooded, but also underground spaces.

Ankle-deep water formed a rapid waterfall rushing down stairways at Taoranting station on subway Line 4 in Xuanwu District, as passengers cautiously navigated the slippery stairs.

Beijing Subway cut off electricity and halted transportation on parts of Line 1, Line 5 and Yizhuang, as some stations experienced minor flooding. Electricity was temporarily out on parts of Line 13. All 12 subway lines extended service times by one hour to handle the traffic.

But for those travelling above ground, the situation was far worse.

According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV), by 8:30 p.m. 42 crossroads were soaked with water. The water level was estimated to have reached 1.5 meters near Lianhuaqiao crossroad, a major intersection in Haidian District.

Gu Xiuyong, 23, who works for a Zhongguancun IT company, was stuck at Gongzhufen, Haidian district, for two hours last night due to the downpour.

"Many routes had no buses at all, and I had to make a detour and transfer many buses to get home," Gu told a reporter. Usually it takes him half an hour to make the trip, he said, but last night it expanded into a three-hour commute.

Gu should consider himself lucky, as many other commuters were stranded on the road until 10 or 11 p.m.

Traffic at Fengyi Bridge in Fengtai District was still jammed and the water had not drained off completely as of 10:20 last night, according to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau's website.

Many stranded commuters posted pictures and texts on the internet via mobile phones while waiting on buses or in their cars. "I hoped it was just a nightmare and that I would wake up any minute," one posted on weibo, a micro-blogging site.

There was no exception for those travelling by air.

An airport spokesman said the torrential downpour caused 144 flights to be canceled. 93 flights were delayed for more than an hour at Beijing Capital International Airport by 9 p.m. Thursday.

The serious delay at the capital airport, a hub connecting cities nationwide with hundreds of flights a day, caused many other airports to suffer paralysis.

Yan Jichun, a doctor who planned to fly to Beijing on Thursday afternoon for a conference on Friday, said his flight to Beijing from Ganzhou in East China's Jiangxi Province was canceled. He and some 100 passengers were sent to local hotels.

Drainage system tested

Beijing opened all pumps to drain off surface water and the Flood Control Office issued a blue alert last night.

Sitting in front of a radar map in an emergency control room, Vice Mayor Xia Zhanyi listened to a flood control official's report on the city's drainage system around 7 o’clock last night.

"The roads are flooded because many sewers are blocked by falling leaves," the official said.

"How come there was no one cleaning out those leaves in advance?" Xia raised his voice and stood up.

Many Internet users blamed Beijing's weak drainage system for the massive traffic disruption, saying Thursday's emergency had revealed the inadequate capacity of drainage facilities.