北京大暴雨致37人死 中國網民羣情洶涌

The deaths of more than three dozen people in Beijing as a result of heavy rains on Saturday have prompted public expressions of grief and anger and led some in China to question how a city lauded for its shiny new infrastructure and rapid modernization could fail so tragically in the face of bad weather.

上週六北京的大暴雨造成30多人死亡，引發了公衆的悲痛和憤怒。一些人提出質疑：一座以嶄新基礎設施和高速現代化受到讚揚的城市，怎麼會在惡劣天氣面前如此悲劇地陷入癱瘓。

Urban areas of Beijing were hit with an average of nearly nine inches of rain over 16 hours on Saturday - the heaviest the Chinese capital has seen in six decades, according the state-run Xinhua news agency.

據新華社報道，上週六，北京城區在16個小時內平均降水量達225毫米，是60年來北京市最大的一次降雨過程。

The deluge, which caused more than 31 road cave-ins, led to more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in economic losses, Xinhua quoted Pan Anjun, deputy chief of the Beijing flood control headquarters, as saying. Even more shocking, at least 37 people died in the downpour, according to a statement released Wednesday night through the Beijing municipal government's official account on Sina Corp.'s Weibo microblogging service. Of those, 25 drowned, six were killed as a result of collapsed structures, five were electrocuted and one was struck by lighting, the statement said.

新華社援引北京市防汛指揮部副指揮長潘安君的話報道稱，特大暴雨造成北京市路面塌方31處，經濟損失逾人民幣100億元（合16億美元）。更令人震驚的是，據北京市政府新浪微博官方賬號週三夜間發佈的公告，至少已有37人在大暴雨中死亡。公告說，其中溺水死亡25人，房屋倒塌致死6人，觸電死亡5人，雷擊致死1人。

The downpour began around 1 p.m. and continued well into the night, turning the city's streets into temporary rivers, stranding cars and busses and producing lakes of waist-deep water at major intersections. The rains led to the cancellation of more than 500 outbound flights at the Beijing airport, stranding at least 80,000 travelers, state media said.

大暴雨始於下午1點左右，一直持續到深夜。北京的街道化作河流，轎車和公交車被困，主要路口變成了齊腰深的水池。據官方媒體報道，大暴雨導致北京機場500多架次離港航班取消，至少8萬名旅客滯留。

Among the worst hit areas was the suburban district of Fangshan, which saw just over 18 inches of rain over the course of the storm, according to Xinhua.

受災最嚴重的地區之一是處於京郊的房山區。據新華社報道，大暴雨期間房山區的降水量達到460毫米。

Nearly 70,000 residents had to be relocated - more than 20,000 of them from Fangshan - as a result of the rain and flooding, state media said.

官方媒體報道，由於大暴雨和洪災，近7萬居民已被轉移，其中房山區超過2萬人。

News of the storm spread rapidly on social media, where users posted video footage of flooded intersections and where messages of support appeared alongside pointed questions about how a city that spent billions building facilities to host the Olympics could struggle so badly in dealing with a thunderstorm

有關這場大暴雨的消息在社交媒體上迅速傳播，有的網民上傳路口積水的視頻，有的發佈支持信息，還有網民提出尖銳質疑：一座斥資數十億美元興建奧運設施的城市，在應對一場大暴雨的時候表現何以如此拙劣。

Among the sharpest criticisms came in the form of a series of photos, posted to Sina Weibo around midnight, contrasting Beijing's flooded streets with images of sewer systems in other famous capitals, including Tokyo's massive 'Underground Temple' flood prevention system.

最尖銳的批評來自午夜時分新浪微博上的一系列圖片。這些圖片把北京積水的街道跟其他知名首都的排水系統做了一番對照，包括東京大規模的“地下神殿”防洪系統。

'Sewers are not a face-giving infrastructure project,' artist Li Yijia wrote in response to the images, repeating a sentiment widely expressed elsewhere on the site.

藝術工作者李易紋在這些圖片後回覆說：下水道不屬於面子工程。這反映了微博上其他人普遍抱有的一種情緒。

'Beijing's glossy appearance can't withstand the erosion of a bout of heavy rain,' wrote another Sina Weibo user. 'In just a few hours, Beijing is washed back into the old days. The city government hasn't stopped rebuilding this city, but they can't even deal with getting waterlogged.'

另一名微博用戶說：北京光鮮的外表經不住一場大雨的沖刷，僅僅幾個小時北京就被淋回了原形；北京城區的市政施工就沒停過，可內澇的問題都不能解決。

Perhaps sensitive to the tenor of conversation online, China's Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday that the central government had allocated 120 million yuan ($19 million) to help Beijing, the coastal city of Tianjin and the northern province of Hebei fight floods, according to Xinhua.

或許是感受到網民洶涌的情緒，中國財政部週日公佈說，中央政府已劃撥1.2億元（合1,900萬美元）用於幫助北京、天津和河北抗洪。

Flood control authorities were still verifying statistics related to the downpour, Xinhua said.

新華社說，防洪部門仍在覈實與大暴雨有關的統計數據。