Heavy rains leave 30 dead in Chinese capital
As of midnight Monday, "the latest round of heavy rainstorms has left 30 people dead in Beijing", state news agency Xinhua said, citing the city's municipal flood control headquarters.
Over 80,000 people have been evacuated in the Chinese capital alone, local state-run outlet Beijing Daily said on social media.
It added that "continuous extreme heavy rainfall caused major disasters".
The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre, it said.
Also badly affected were Huairou district in the north of the city and Fangshan in the southwest, state media said.
Dozens of roads have been closed and over 130 villages have lost electricity, Beijing Daily said.
"Please pay attention to weather forecasts and warnings and do not go to risk areas unless necessary," the outlet said.
In Miyun, a resident surnamed Liu said he watched floodwater sweep away vehicles outside his apartment block early Monday morning.
AFP journalists there saw a crawler lift people and a dog to safety as rescuers waded through water up to their knees.
Nearby, in the town of Mujiayu, AFP journalists saw a reservoir release a torrent of water.
Power lines were swept away by muddy currents while military vehicles and ambulances ploughed flooded streets.
Firefighters also rescued 48 people trapped in an elderly care centre, CCTV reported.
'All-out efforts'
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged authorities late Monday to plan for worst-case scenarios and rush the relocation of residents of flood-threatened areas.
Beijing Daily said local officials had "made all-out efforts to search and rescue missing persons... and made every effort to reduce casualties".
In Hebei province, which encircles the capital, a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde killed four people, with eight still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported Monday.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
Flash floods in the eastern Shandong province killed two people and left 10 missing this month.
A landslide on a highway in Sichuan province this month also killed five people after it swept several cars down a mountainside.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Beijing official admits ‘gaps' in readiness after deadly floods ravage northern China
A Beijing official admitted on Thursday there had been "gaps" in the city's readiness for heavy rains that killed dozens of people. "There were gaps in our preparatory plans. Our knowledge of extreme weather was lacking. This tragic lesson has warned us that putting the people first, putting human life first, is more than a slogan," Yu Weiguo, ruling Communist Party boss in the hard-hit Miyun district, told a news conference. The admission came days after heavy rains killed more than 30 people in the Beijing region and forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands as swaths of northern China were lashed by torrential downpours that sparked landslides and flooding earlier this week. The storm knocked out power in more than 130 villages in Beijing, destroyed communication lines and damaged more than 30 sections of road. Heavy flooding washed away cars and downed power poles in Miyun, an outlying northeastern district of Beijing. More than 80,000 people were relocated in Beijing, including about 17,000 in Miyun, according to Beijing city officials. 'Once in a hundred years' Clean-up efforts began on Wednesday as weary locals worked desperately to retrieve what belongings they could find. "It's the kind of flood seen once in a hundred years," said Pang, a 52-year-old resident of Taishitun, situated just over 100 kilometres (61 miles) northeast of Beijing's bustling city centre. In Anzhouba village, muddy waters had receded, exposing scraps of metal and broken branches. Local Hu recounted a frantic call to her stepdaughter, 23, who was home with her parents when the waters struck on Saturday night. "But before I could finish my words, the call dropped," she told AFP. She later found out that rushing water from the river around 10 metres away had flooded the house and blocked the front door. Her daughter was forced to kick out the window and evacuate her grandparents to the neighbour's balcony, dragging her disabled grandfather as his wife pushed from below. "I've never seen this before, in all my 40 years of life. Neither have those who've lived 80 or 90 years," she said. Authorities have mobilised the army to help disaster relief operations, according to Chinese news stations. The government and Communist Party have collectively allocated around 490 million yuan ($68 million) for disaster relief in nine regions hit by heavy rains, national broadcaster CCTV reported. Another 200 million yuan will be allocated for the capital. In 2023, heavy rain killed more than 80 people across northern and northeastern China, including at least 29 people in Hebei, where severe flooding destroyed homes and crops. Some reports had suggested the province shouldered the burden of a government decision to divert the deluge away from Beijing. Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat. China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense. But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Beijing officials admit 'gaps' in readiness after rain kill dozens
Swathes of northern China endured deadly rains and floods since last week that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands. The capital's rural suburbs were hardest hit, officials said, raising the toll from the previously reported 30 announced on Tuesday. "As of midday on July 31, some 44 people have died and nine are still missing as a result of the disasters across the whole of Beijing," top city official Xia Linmao told a news conference. "Between July 23 and 29, Beijing suffered extreme rainfall," he said, adding they had caused "significant casualties and (other) losses". Out of those deaths, 31 took place at an "elderly care centre" in the town of Taishitun in the northeast of the city, Xia said. Among those still missing are local officials working on search and rescue, he added. "On behalf of the municipal party committee and the city government, I would like to express deep mourning for those who have regrettably lost their lives, and profound condolences to their relatives," he said. Xia vowed to "learn profound lessons" from the disaster. "Our ability to forecast and warn of extreme weather is insufficient, and disaster prevention and mitigation plans have not been fully developed. There are still shortcomings in the construction of infrastructure in mountainous areas," he said. Yu Weiguo, ruling Communist Party boss in the hard-hit Miyun district, also admitted there had been "gaps" in readiness. "Our knowledge of extreme weather was lacking. This tragic lesson has warned us that putting the people first, putting human life first, is more than a slogan," he said. Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat. China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense. But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Japan lifts tsunami advisory after Russia quake
"There is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force," the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on its website. Millions of people were put on high alert in countries around the Pacific Ocean after the 8.8-magnitude quake off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula on Wednesday. The worst damage was seen in Russia, where a tsunami crashed through the port of Severo-Kurilsk and submerged the local fishing plant, officials said. Russian state television footage showed buildings and debris swept into the sea. The initial quake caused limited damage and only light injuries. Fears of a repeat of the December 2004 tsunami that killed 220,000 people in 11 nations -- the legacy of which was to improve early warning systems -- were not realised. In Japan, where a massive earthquake and tsunami killed 15,000 people in 2011, almost two million people were ordered to higher ground, but the biggest wave was 1.3 metres (4.3 feet). The only reported fatality was a woman killed when her car fell off a cliff in Japan as she tried to escape on Wednesday, local media reported. Japan downgraded its tsunami alert to an advisory later on Wednesday, and waves of up to 0.7 metres were still being observed on Thursday. "The tsunami warning was lifted at 4:30 pm (0630 GMT) after it was determined that the tsunamis would not grow any larger," the JMA said. The beaching of four sperm whales on a beach in Japan was initially blamed on the earthquake but officials said the animals had washed up a day earlier. Local surfer Fumiko Udagawa said that it was the first time that such big whales were washed up in the 20 years she has lived in the area. "As surfers, we are constantly worried now about the sea water being so warm, even towards winter," the 56-year-old told AFP. "I wonder if this (stranded whales) is also a result of global warming." Akira Komatsu, a seasonal visitor, wondered if the whales washing up were a precursor of the quake. "I heard that earthquakes affect the magnetic condition underwater, and whales detect magnetics," the 61-year-old told AFP.
