A woman cleans mud from her home in the Fangshan district of Beijing, China, July 25, 2012. Fangshan suffered some of the worst damage after the heaviest rain in 60 years.
Beijing (CNN) -- The "heaviest rain in six decades" in the Chinese capital of Beijing has left at least 37 people dead, the state news agency Xinhua reported Sunday.
The torrential downpour lasted 10 hours, with gusty winds in some areas and a tornado in one suburb, according to local media.
During the storm, traffic was paralyzed for hours, with drivers and pedestrians stranded throughout the city. Many streets were flooded with water levels sometimes as deep as 13 feet (4 meters).
Thousands of emergency responders were deployed and divers had to be brought in to search for anyone trapped.
Anger over Beijing's flooding response
Officials said almost 2 million people were affected by the rainstorm and the economic losses have exceeded $1.5 billion.
Drowning is the leading cause of death, taking 25 lives, Xinhua reported. But six people were killed by collapsing houses, five were electrocuted, and one was hit by lightning, the agency reported, citing the municipal government.
The average rainfall Saturday was 6.7 inches, but one suburban district recorded 18 inches, Xinhua said.
Authorities have identified 22 bodies so far, the agency reported.
At the Beijing International Airport, more than 500 flights were canceled Saturday. At one point, some 80,000 passengers were stranded in the airport terminals.
Even as operations slowly returned to normal, there were reports of passengers still stranded late Sunday.
Local television broadcast heroic stories of search and rescue efforts and people helping each other, but online, people were critical.
Many complained that authorities seemed ill-prepared despite heavy rain having been forecast days in advance. Critics said there was no emergency broadcast system deployed, no government shelters and no special hotlines.
They also complained of a fragile, ill-prepared infrastructure, pointing out the sewer system was overwhelmed by the rains.
Xinhua reported the flooding submerged some power supply facilities and led to blackouts in parts of the city.
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A man slogs through mud past damaged vehicles after flooding Tuesday, July 24, in Laishui, China, north of Beijing. The heaviest rain in 60 years submerged large parts of the Chinese capital.
Weekend flooding leaves vehicles tossed about on roads in Laishui, a town in northern China's Hebei province.
Water pours over a collapsed bridge leading to Laishui on Tuesday. The heavy rains have affected more than 6 million people in China.
A farmer stands in his flooded field on the outskirts of Chongqing in southwest China on Sunday, July 22.
The downpour causes chaos on a flooded Beijing street on Saturday, July 21. About 6.7 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Chinese capital and as much as 18 inches in the suburban Fangshan district.
A cyclist rides through a flooded street in Beijing during heavy rainfall Saturday. More rain is forecast as Beijing cleans up after the weekend downpour.
Municipal workers try to clear water on a section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau expressway, where more than 80 cars were submerged on Monday, July 23, in Beijing.
Soldiers try to clear water on a section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao expressway on July 23, 2012 in Beijing, China.
Rescuers evacuate an elderly woman from her flooded home in Chongqing, southwest China, July 23, 2012.
As the floodwater cleared, the damage became clearer. These cars are wedged in a hole in Beijing, July 23, 2012.
A farmer piles up chickens that drowned at a flooded farm in the outskirts of Chongqing, China, July 22.
Two men watch as emergency services personnel try to retrieve a damaged bus which was submerged in a flooded carpark after a storm hit Beijing, July 22, 2012.
Emergency services personnel try to retrieve damaged vehicles submerged in a flooded carpark after a storm hit Beijing, July 22.
A Beijing resident carrying buckets of water as she makes her way home through a storm on Saturday, July 21.
Commuters make their way home through roadside debris as a storm hits Beijing, July 21.
A resident checks his damaged home after a storm hit the city, July 22.
A flood-swept car is lodged against a building at a railway crossing in Beijing on Saturday, July 21.
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