weekend storm that dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in
Beijing, the most since records were first kept 60 years ago, left 37 people
dead, including a man who drowned in his car after it was submerged under a
bridge.

The July 21 rainstorm caused 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in
flood damage and stranded about 80,000 travelers after their flights were
delayed, China Daily newspaper said. Authorities evacuated 56,933 people from
the hardest-hit areas, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The
storm spurred criticism on China's microblog services that city drainage systems
were ill-equipped to handle the deluge even after infrastructure upgrades and a
4 trillion yuan stimulus package during the 2008 global financial
crisis.

"The sewer system belongs to infrastructure, right?" Wang Mudi, a
television host in Guangdong, wrote on his microblog with Sina Corp.'s Weibo
service. "Then how much money of the 4 trillion yuan flowed to the sewer
system?"

The flooding had eased in Beijing by the afternoon today. The
downpour in the capital was part of a broader storm across the country that
displaced at least 567,000 people and killed 95 since July 20, Xinhua
reported.

Vice Premier Hui Liangyu today called for strengthened weather
monitoring and timely evacuation of residents, warning that floods may occur at
any time in major rivers in a year when climate conditions have been
"complicated and changeable."

Record-setting Rain
An average of almost
seven inches of rain fell in Beijing, the most since records were first kept in
1951. The suburb of Fangshan got more than 16 inches, Xinhua
said.

Twenty-five people drowned, and 12 died in building collapses or
were electrocuted, Xinhua reported, citing the city government. Beijing
newspapers published photos of people swimming from stranded vehicles, soldiers
rescuing trapped children and cars abandoned on flooded roads.

Russian
President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Chinese counterpart
President Hu Jintao about Beijing's flood victims, Xinhua reported, citing the
Russian presidential press service.

Criticism surrounding the toll
entered even state-run media, with the English-language Global Times newspaper
saying the flood's casualties "exposed the vulnerability of Beijing's drainage
system to flooding, as calls for the local government to revamp the city's
outdated drainage infrastructure was renewed."

Speculation that the flood
could lead to new infrastructure projects may have boosted drainage-related
stocks in China today. Pump-maker Zhejiang Leo Co. (002131) rose 10 percent to
10.73 yuan at the 3 p.m. close in Shenzhen, its biggest gain since April 25.
Ningxia Qinglong Pipes Industry Co. (002457) rose 5.6 percent to 7.95 yuan, its
biggest gain since May 29. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1
percent.