Torrential rains pounded Beijing on Saturday, the Chinese capital was soaked by the largest rainfall the city has seen in six decades. 37 people died in the rains.

In the city centre, many roads were flooded, causing traffic jams of up to 10 hours in some areas. In the suburban mountainous areas, over 30,000 people were relocated for fear of mudslide.

The Beijing Flood control office sent out 500 tents, 20 motor boats, and 500 boxes of medicine to Fangshan district, the most severely hit area.

More than 12,000 people worked to drain 1 million cubic meters of water from the streets. Traffic at the airport almost ground to a halt with about 75 percent of the flights being cancelled, leaving over 80 thousand travellers stranded.