Chinese angry at response to Beijing flood

BEIJING, July 25 (UPI) -- China's capital Beijing, already hit by deadly flooding, braced for more rains Thursday, state media said.

Separately, the city's mayor and vice mayor resigned, but their departure was not tied to the worst meteorological disaster in the capital in 60 years, which has claimed at least 37 lives and drawn widespread criticism of the municipal government's handling of the situation.

The flooding, triggered by heavy rains last weekend, caused much damage both in the capital and across China, killing or leaving missing more than 100 people and affecting millions of people.

On the highway connecting Beijing to Hong Kong and Macau, divers found 84 cars -- and three bodies -- covered by flood water on one half-mile stretch, CNN reported.

Authorities issued a yellow alert for a rainstorm forecast to soak the Beijing from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning. The yellow alert is the third-highest warning level in China's five-tier color-coded geological disaster warning system.

The soil water contents in Beijing's mountainous areas are saturated, which could lead to floods and geological disasters, Sun Jisong, chief forecaster of Beijing Meteorological Bureau said.

State media reported the resignations of Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong and Vice Mayor Ji Lin but their actions were seen as part of routine leadership changes. Guo has been elected secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Gao Liying, who lives in the Chinese capital's Fangshan district, told CNN the flood destroyed everything she owns but she said officials were not sympathetic.

"They actually said: 'If your house didn't collapse and nobody died, then you're not a victim,'" she said. "I asked: Are you still human?"

Comments about the flooding on the Sina Weibo Web site suggested many Chinese are angry that a government that has hosted the Summer Olympics and launched an aggressive space program failed to provide advance flood warnings. There is also anger at solicitations for contributions for flood victims.

"Chinese government is wealthy enough to help Africa, the Philippines and North Korea, but they don't have the money to help its own people get over the disaster," read one comment.

CNN said many online comments about the departure of the mayor and vice mayor were being blocked and deleted.

China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Wang Anshun, Beijing's vice Party chief, was appointed as acting mayor.