China relocates 4,400 as Monsoon storms devastate north
Colossal rain continued to pound the suburban area of Miyun in Beijing, causing flash floods and landslides, and many villages were affected, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Images circulated on China's WeChat app showed areas of Miyun where cars and trucks were floating on a flooded road where water levels had risen so high that it had submerged part of a residential building.
Electricity cuts are also affecting more than 10,000 people in the area, CCTV said.
Northern China has seen record precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities, including Beijing, to flood risks. Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China's usually arid north to global warming.
The storms are part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China due to the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world's second-largest economy.
Xiwanzi Village in Shicheng Town, near Miyun Reservoir, was severely affected, CCTV said on Monday with an additional 100 villagers transferred to a primary school for shelter.
It comes after the maximum flood peak flow into the Miyun reservoir reached a record high of 6550 cubic meters per second, Beijing authorities said on Sunday.
In neighbouring Shanxi province, videos from state media showed roads inundated by strong gushing currents and submerged vegetation, including crops and trees.
Shaanxi province, home to China's historic city of Xian, also issued flash flood disaster risk warnings on Monday.
In Beijing's Pinggu District, two high-risk road sections have been sealed, authorities said.
Authorities are carrying out search and rescue work across cities, including Datong, where a driver in a Ford car has lost contact while driving in the floods, the People's Daily reported.
China's Water Resources Ministry has issued targeted flood warnings to 11 provinces and regions, including Beijing and neighbouring Hebei, for floods from small and midsize rivers and mountain torrents.
Two were dead and two missing in Hebei province, CCTV said on Sunday morning. Overnight rain dumped a record 145 mm (5.7 inches) per hour on Fuping in the industrial city of Baoding.
China's National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday that it was urgently arranging 50 million yuan ($6.98 million) to support Hebei.
The funds would be used to repair damaged roads and bridges, water conservancy embankments, schools and hospitals in the disaster area. The NDRC said it was "promoting the restoration of normal life and production as soon as possible."
Chinese authorities closely monitor extreme rainfall and severe flooding are, as they challenge the country's ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
Hong Kong issues highest weather warning, as rains shut schools, courts and hospital wards
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's weather bureau said its highest 'black' rainstorm warning would remain in place until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, as heavy rains lashed the Asian financial hub, closing hospital wards, schools, and the jurisdiction's courts and register offices. The storms follow deadly flash floods in Southern China over the weekend, which left five dead in Guangdong province and prompted a large-scale search operation involving over 1,300 rescuers. 'Persistent rainstorm will cause serious road flooding and traffic congestion. Members of the public are advised to take shelter in a safe place,' the Hong Kong Observatory said in a bulletin on its website. The authority reported 9,837 lightning strokes over the city between 6 a.m. (2200 GMT) and 6:59 a.m. Up to 60-90mm (2.4-3.5 inches) of rain is hitting Hong Kong and the nearby Chinese city of Guangzhou per hour, according to China's weather authority. Hong Kong typically receives anannual average of 2,220mm of rainfall, more than half of which usually falls from June through August. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange remains open, having changed its policy to continue trading whatever the weather late last year. Hong Kong's hospital authority announced that accident and emergency wards will remain open, but general outpatient clinics and geriatric and psychiatric day hospitals will close due to the extreme weather. While the judiciary said that courts, tribunals and register offices would open 'as soon as practical within two hours after the 'black' rainstorm warning is cancelled,' in a statement. The post office said that all its premises and delivery services would be suspended until the storm warning had passed. The city's airport has not reported any disruptions. Hong Kong Disneyland remains open, with limited operations.
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
Beijing braces for more rain as deadly floods displace over 70,000
People in raincoats stand at the closed gates of the Forbidden City during heavy rain in Beijing, China, July 30, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS Beijing has evacuated over 70,000 residents and placed all 16 districts on the highest level of alert as authorities brace for another round of heavy rainfall, a week after the capital witnessed its deadliest flooding in over a decade. Between July 23 and 29, torrential rains killed at least 44 people in the city, most of them trapped at a nursing home in Miyun district, where rising floodwaters overwhelmed emergency systems. The tragedy prompted officials to acknowledge shortcomings in contingency planning for extreme weather. Forecasters warned that up to 200 millimetres of rain could fall in just six hours in some areas, triggering widespread closures of outdoor sites including parts of the Great Wall. Authorities also suspended operations of underground businesses and urged residents to remain alert as the risk of flash floods and landslides remains extremely high. The evacuations included nearly 14,000 people from Mentougou, a mountainous district in the city's west, according to state broadcaster CCTV. This marks the first citywide state of readiness since July 28. Beijing's terrain, surrounded by mountains to the west and north, is considered a natural rain trap, often intensifying downpours and complicating drainage. In 2012, the city recorded its worst floods in recent memory, with 79 fatalities, mostly in Fangshan district. Read: Torrential rain displaces over 4,400 in Beijing Wellness camp tragedy adds to rising toll Beyond the capital, the downpours have taken lives elsewhere. In Chengde, Hebei province, three people died and four remain missing after floods swept through "Beijing Valley", a riverside wellness retreat. Around 40 people had gathered at the site on July 27 for a wellness event, where organisers had set up tents on low-lying land near a river bend. By 2am the next morning, water had reached knee height, forcing attendees to flee toward the camp's only exit. The incident drew comparisons to Camp Mystic in Texas, where 28 children drowned last month when a river overflowed during torrential rains. Read more: 21 children among 67 dead in Texas floods amid ongoing summer camp rescue effort In southern Guangdong province, five bodies were recovered over the weekend following a large-scale rescue operation involving more than 1,300 personnel. The victims had gone missing after being swept away during Friday night's storms, Xinhua reported. With the summer monsoon season still active and more rainfall forecast in the days ahead, Chinese authorities are working to reinforce ageing flood defences, improve forecasting, and revise evacuation strategies as extreme weather events strain city infrastructure and emergency systems.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business Recorder
Beijing on top alert for heavy rain, tells residents to avoid going out
BEIJING: Beijing put most of its hilly districts on the highest alert for heavy rainfall on Monday and warned residents against going out unnecessarily, after dozens recently died in the deadliest floods to hit the Chinese capital since 2012. Up to 200mm (7.9 inches) of rain could hit parts of Beijing over a six-hour period from midday, weather forecasters warned. The city of 22 million people receives on average 600mm of rainfall each year. Late last month, at least 44 people died in Beijing after days of heavy rains. Most of the dead were people unexpectedly trapped by rapidly rising waters at a nursing home in Miyun district on the city's northeastern outskirts. The fatalities led authorities to admit to shortcomings in their contingency plans for extreme weather. Heavy rain, landslides kill more than 30 in northern China On Monday, Beijing had six of its 16 districts on the highest alert for heavy rainfall - Mentougou, Fangshan, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Huairou and Changping - all of which lie in mountainous areas to the west and north of the city. The risk of flash floods and landslides is 'extremely high', local authorities cautioned. In the summer of 2012, 79 people died in Beijing in the city's deadliest flooding in living memory. Fangshan district was the worst-hit, with one resident reporting a rise in floodwaters of 1.3 metres in just 10 minutes. Beijing's topography has been described by some as a rain 'trap', with its mountains to the west and north capturing moist air and amplifying any ensuing rainfall as a result. In southern Guangdong province over the weekend, the bodies of five people were recovered after a large-scale search operation involving more than 1,300 rescuers. The five people, who went missing on Friday night, were 'swept away by water' following heavy rainfall in recent days, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
