北京大暴雨致37人死 中国网民群情汹涌
Anger Swells After Floods Kill At Least 37 in Beijing
来源：华尔街日报    2012-07-23

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

　　上周六北京的大暴雨造成30多人死亡，引发了公众的悲痛和愤怒。一些人提出质疑：一座以崭新基础设施和高速现代化受到赞扬的城市，怎么会在恶劣天气面前如此悲剧地陷入瘫痪。 
据新华社报道，上周六，北京城区在16个小时内平均降水量达225毫米，是60年来北京市最大的一次降雨过程。
　　新华社援引北京市防汛指挥部副指挥长潘安君的话报道称，特大暴雨造成北京市路面塌方31处，经济损失逾人民币100亿元（合16亿美元）。更令人震惊的是，据北京市政府新浪微博官方账号周三夜间发布的公告，至少已有37人在大暴雨中死亡。公告说，其中溺水死亡25人，房屋倒塌致死6人，触电死亡5人，雷击致死1人。
　　大暴雨始于下午1点左右，一直持续到深夜。北京的街道化作河流，轿车和公交车被困，主要路口变成了齐腰深的水池。据官方媒体报道，大暴雨导致北京机场500多架次离港航班取消，至少8万名旅客滞留。 
　　受灾最严重的地区之一是处于京郊的房山区。据新华社报道，大暴雨期间房山区的降水量达到460毫米。 　　官方媒体报道，由于大暴雨和洪灾，近7万居民已被转移，其中房山区超过2万人。 
　　有关这场大暴雨的消息在社交媒体上迅速传播，有的网民上传路口积水的视频，有的发布支持信息，还有网民提出尖锐质疑：一座斥资数十亿美元兴建奥运设施的城市，在应对一场大暴雨的时候表现何以如此拙劣。
　　最尖锐的批评来自午夜时分新浪微博上的一系列图片。这些图片把北京积水的街道跟其他知名首都的排水系统做了一番对照，包括东京大规模的“地下神殿”防洪系统。
艺术工作者李易纹在这些图片后回复说：下水道不属于面子工程。这反映了微博上其他人普遍抱有的一种情绪。
　　另一名微博用户说：北京光鲜的外表经不住一场大雨的冲刷，仅仅几个小时北京就被淋回了原形；北京城区的市政施工就没停过，可内涝的问题都不能解决。
　　或许是感受到网民汹涌的情绪，中国财政部周日公布说，中央政府已划拨1.2亿元（合1,900万美元）用于帮助北京、天津和河北抗洪。
　　新华社说，防洪部门仍在核实与大暴雨有关的统计数据。