"Violent Thunderstorms Kill Dozens In China"

At least 32 people died as thunderstorms of unprecedented intensity rocked southwestern China, smashing rainfall records and paralysing transportation, state media reported Wednesday. Lightning struck more than 40,000 times in the Chinese metropolis of Chongqing during a frightening 16-hour downpour on Tuesday, the Beijing News reported. Heavy rains continued on Wednesday and were expect to rage on for at least another day, the Xinhua news agency said.
It said 32 deaths had been reported so far and 12 people were missing in the storms that have affected more than five million locals and forced more than 250,000 to flee their homes.

The storms dropped 226.6 millimetres (10 inches) of rain on the city centre, the largest 24-hour total since records were first kept in 1892, smashing the old record of 206.1 millimetres.

So far more than 19,600 homes have been destroyed, at a cost of more than 2.1 billion yuan (282 million dollars) said Xinhua.

"A storm of this intensity is unprecedented for Chongqing," the Beijing News quoted local meteorologists as saying, a year after the region was plagued by a rare drought.

The storms stranded 5,000 passengers at the city's airport, a major hub for the region.

At least 240 flights were affected, some delayed more than seven hours, while several more were diverted to other cities, Xinhua said.

More than 400 people have died and at least another 105 are missing so far in rainy-season flooding across the country that began several weeks ago.

Another 3.17 million people have been left homeless.