Flights cancelled as wild weather lashes China
Storms disrupt hundreds of flights at Beijing airport while authorities warn of landslides in quake-hit Sichuan
Thunderstorms lashed Beijing on Saturday, disrupting hundreds of flights at one of the world’s largest airports, while authorities warned that rain and wind could cause landslides in the area where a magnitude 7 earthquake struck this week.
Beijing authorities raised their weather alert level to “orange” from “yellow” early in the afternoon, warning against lightning, hail, wind and as much as 70mm of rain, threatening flash floods in mountainous areas.
By early afternoon rain had subsided in some parts of the capital, but nine roads were still flooded and 171 tourist sites were shut, official news agency Xinhua reported.
At Beijing Capital International Airport, the busiest on the mainland, almost 500 flights were cancelled from 9am to midnight and 182 were delayed, according to its website. Passengers were advised to check for flight updates.
Air China said on its official Weibo account that 137 of its flights in and out of the capital had been cancelled by 11am.
