Downgraded Matsa wreaks little havoc
By Liang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-10 05:34

Warned of severe thunderstorms and strong winds, Beijingers braced for the worst yesterday but in the end, it was a pleasant anti-climax.

A worker restores a giant billboard which was disassembled to avoid Matsa in Hangzhou, east Zhejiang Province, August 9, 2005. [newsphoto]

There were no torrents of rain or gale-force winds. Instead, Tropical Storm Matsa lost its venom as it embraced the city.

Rain began falling in most areas in the small hours of the morning and 12 hours earlier in the suburbs including Pinggu, Daxing and Tongzhou, with only moderate showers, a local weatherman said.

"Matsa was downgraded to a tropical low pressure system and touched Beijing gently 20 hours behind schedule," Guo Hu, an official from the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, said.

Rainfall yesterday averaged 20-40 millimetres in various parts and was a welcome relief for residents wilting under the heat of previous days.

The rain is expected to be gone by tomorrow and the mercury will start climbing again soon.

By yesterday morning, Matsa had moved to Northeast China's Liaoning Province and made landfall in Dalian, a port city.

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