BEIJING, July 2 (Reuters) - Heavy rain has flooded most streets in the southwestern Chinese tourist city of Kunming and forced the closure of its airport after water submerged the runway and part of the terminal, state media said on Wednesday.

The downpour that started on Tuesday evening stranded cars, soaked shops and inundated low-lying neighbourhoods in the capital city of scenic Yunnan province, the official Xinhua news agency said.

"Most of the streets in the city suffered serious flooding and there were traffic jams on major roads," Xinhua said. The water was as deep as 1 metre (3 ft) in places, it said.

A total of 156 flights were delayed as of Wednesday morning as the runway and the airport's departure hall were flooded, the report said.

Soldiers and airport staff had been trying to drain the water, which was waist deep at some points, Xinhua said.

Flooding is a perennial problem for much of south and east China in the summer. Floods have killed nearly 200 people so far this year.

Torrential rain hit densely-populated areas along the Huai River this week, posing a threat of flooding, state media said.

Chinese authorities have warned of more floods in the coming months. (Reporting by Guo Shipeng; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Alex Richardson)

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