Heaviest rain in 6 decades thrashes Beijing, leaving 4 dead

BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The heaviest rain in 61 years that lashed¹ Beijing Saturday have left at least four people dead and six others injured, local authorities said.

Two people were killed and six others injured as strong winds toppled rooftops in two villages in the city's suburban² Tongzhou district, the Beijing Emergency Medical Center said.

The third person, also in Tongzhou, was killed after being struck by lightning. The fourth, head of a police station in suburban Fangshan district died of electric shock from a fallen electric wire in waters while rescuing trapped villagers.

A driver was rushed to hospital after being pulled critically injured out of her car submerged in deep waters under the Guangqumen overpass³. Her fate was not immediately known.

Many passersby⁵ have joined the efforts to help drag more cars trapped out of the deep waters.

In addition, more than 5,200 residents in several mountainous suburban districts have been relocated to safer places as authorities ordered to brace⁶ for potential landslides⁷ and flash flood.

Also rescuers have reached the 350 students and 40 teachers trapped at a military training site in Fangshan district by a flash flood.

The students and teachers were in no immediate⁴ danger at higher floors and the rescuers have brought them hot water and food. The rescue operation was ongoing⁸.

A river in Fangshan overflowed⁹ its banks Saturday night, trapping more than 40 residents in a village. Twenty have been rescued and rescuers are to reach more.

The rainstorm that started thrashing the city around 10 a.m. Saturday has cut off traffic on some roads inundated¹⁰ by waters and also severely¹¹ disrupted air traffic.

Authorities have sent out 7,000 traffic police to the city's roads to help cope with traffic problems.

Many roads under overpasses¹² were submerged by waters of up to one meter deep, leaving some cars stranded¹³. Many people therefore chose to take subway rather than drive their own cars.

"That was by no means car driving. It looked very much like sailing a boat," recalled Beijing resident Yuan Xin, who drove back home in rain Saturday.

"There were waves all around," said Yuan. "I was very nervous inside the car and I was wondering now and then what if the car broke down."

Many pedestrians¹⁴ on some roads were seen treading in waist-level waters. While on a road near the Lishuiqiao, many returned after walking into waist-deep water in a 10-square-meter "pond" on the road uncertain how deep the water in front was.

"I read on the microblog that a foreigner swam back home. If the water do not recede¹⁵ soon, I'll swim across it too," a young man holding his leather shoes told Xinhua.

The popular Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging site, was flooded with photos showing the city being swamped. Many accused that the city's drainage system was ill prepared for rainstorms.

About 475 flights have been canceled and 80 others delayed by more than one hour by 11 p.m., according to the Beijing Capital International Airport. The airport's operation was starting to resume as the rain began to subdue¹⁶.

The metro¹⁷ line linking the airport with the downtown area resumed operation at 10:05 p.m. after two and a half hours' suspension due to rain-triggered power failure.

The line's service will be extended by one hour to midnight to carry stranded passengers, the metro line's operator said in a statement. Also free shuttle bus service is offered.

According to statistics at 20 state-level climate observing stations in Beijing, the city received 163.7 mm of precipitation on average as of 10 p.m., the largest since weather records began in 1951, said Guo Wenli, director of the climate center under the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. A township in the Fangshan district was hit by the largest rainfall of 366 mm.

The record was to be renewed as the rain continued, Guo said.

The agency issued its first orange rainstorm alert warning since 2005 Saturday evening as the rain is forecast to last over 20 hours till Sunday morning.

Chinese meteorological authorities use a four-tier color-coded weather warning system from "blue", "yellow" to "orange" and "red".

In another orange alert issued at 10 p.m., the bureau forecast that several eastern suburban regions were to receive up to 70 mm of rainfall in the coming three hours.

1 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

3 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。

6 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

7 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 overflowed   

溢出的

参考例句：

• Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
• A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 overpasses   

n.立交桥，天桥，高架道路( overpass的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Is that why they're constructing so many underpasses, overpasses and highways? 那就是他们建这么多天桥、地下通道和公路的原因吗？ 来自辞典例句
• I also find more overpasses and elevated highways have been built. 我也发现建造了更多人行天桥和高架道路。 来自互联网

13 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

14 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

16 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

17 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。