A freak storm in China’s capital that killed at least 37 people over the weekend has sparked anger and raised questions over poor urban infrastructure in the world’s second-largest economy.
The violent rainstorm, the worst Beijing has seen in more than six decades, according to city authorities, dumped an average of 17cm of rain on the Chinese capital on Saturday. Flash floods temporarily paralysed the city, shutting down most transport and leaving 80,000 people stranded at the airport on Saturday night.
Most of Beijing was dry and functioning normally by Sunday morning, which some residents said was proof that the city handled the floods well. But others saw the floods as evidence of Beijing’s failure to upgrade its drainage systems despite the billions of renminbi spent beautifying and improving the capital in recent years.