Continuous rain on Monday afternoon flooded many main roads in Beijing, blocking transportation in the capital city for hours.

A river near the West Third Ring Road flooded the main road and caused traffic jams on the connecting roads, Xinhua reported.

Police and city workers were dispatched to redirect vehicles and pump the water out of the road, and transportation at major flooded areas began to resume at around 10:00 PM.

Hundreds of planes were delayed at Beijing Capital International Airport because of the rain, which was the heaviest short-term rainstorm this year, according to Beijing Meteorological Bureau.

(CRIENGLISH.com July 14, 2009)