Thirty dead in Beijing following heavy rain, Xinhua reports
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Philippines records 10.5bil pesos infrastructure damage due to south-west monsoon, cyclones with death toll at 37
FILE PHOTO: Maica Mendoza, 25, is partially submerged in floodwater at a village inundated by high tide, and flooding brought by monsoon rains and Typhoon Co-may, in Calumpit, Bulacan, Philippines, July 25, 2025. Over 1,400 infrastructure facilities in 10 regions across the country were damaged by the combined effects of the habagat and tropical cyclones Crising (international name: Wipha), Dante (Francisco), and Emong (Co-may). - Reuters MANILA: Infrastructure damage caused by the southwest monsoon, locally known as habagat, and recent tropical cyclones has reached over P10.5 billion (US$180.2 million), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Friday (Aug 1). Based on NDRRMC's situational report, 1,438 infrastructure facilities in 10 regions across the country were damaged by the combined effects of the habagat and tropical cyclones Crising (international name: Wipha), Dante (Francisco), and Emong (Co-may). The overall infrastructure damage nationwide has reached P10,594,409,072.32 as of 6 a.m. Friday, the NDRRMC said. The largest portions of the damage were reported in Central Luzon (over P3.8 billion) and the Ilocos Region (P3.1 billion). The Cordillera Administrative Region logged more than P1.2 billion in infrastructure damage, while Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) reported over P1 billion in losses. Two infrastructures in Northern Mindanao were affected by the bad weather, but the damage did not contribute to the total cost. The NDRRMC also reported that 736 road sections and 43 bridges, as well as 55,550 houses, were damaged nationwide. Meanwhile, agriculture losses now amount to P2.2 billion, the agency added. As of Friday morning, the death toll from the recent weather disturbances remains at 37, the NDRRMC said. Meanwhile, the number of injuries rose to 33, up from 22 on Thursday. The NDRRMC said eight persons remain missing as of this writing. A total of 2,272,696 families or 8,263,199 individuals, across the country, were affected. Of these, 27,516 families or 102,060 individuals, are still staying in evacuation centers. Currently, the southwest monsoon continues to bring rain showers to large parts of the country, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). Pagasa added that the low-pressure area being monitored, which has a 'high' chance of developing into a tropical depression, may enter the Philippine area of responsibility and become the first cyclone in the country this August. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
The Star
17 hours ago
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China releases US$77 million relief fund as casualties mount in Beijing floods
China has allocated millions in emergency funds to regions devastated by heavy downpours and floods that claimed at least 40 lives in Beijing and its neighbouring provinces. A total of 550 million yuan (US$76.7 million) has been allocated by the central government to flood-hit regions for disaster relief, with 200 million yuan directed to Beijing's response to the floods. The torrential rains led to 30 deaths in Beijing as of Monday, according to state media reports on Tuesday. Chinese leaders called for all-out efforts in disaster relief after 'heavy casualties' in the city and other parts of the country. July and August are the rainy season in China, and the wet weather has hit Beijing, the neighbouring province of Hebei, the northeastern province of Liaoning and the eastern coastal province of Shandong, causing 'heavy casualties and property losses', state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday night. Videos of flooding and landslides, as well as rescue efforts, have been circulating on social media. Many of the online posts show houses submerged and destroyed, with debris embedded in the mud-choked ground or drifting in floodwaters. One online commenter, calling herself Nanxi, described her evacuation on Sunday from Miyun – the mountainous district northeast of Beijing that was worst affected – as 'not an escape room game, but a real-life ordeal'. 'In less than half an hour, the first floor of the villa we were staying in was completely submerged. Floodwaters from the mountains rose to shoulder height,' she wrote. More than 37,000 people from 149 villages were forced to relocate from Miyun, where heavy rain since Saturday has caused flash flooding and landslides, according to local media reports. In its Monday report, Xinhua cited instructions by President Xi Jinping for all possible steps to be taken to prevent flooding, for effective deployment of disaster relief supplies to ensure immediate responses and for quick handling of any sudden emergencies. 'The heavy rainfall and flooding in Miyun have caused heavy casualties. It is imperative to make all-out efforts to search for and rescue missing individuals, properly relocate affected residents, and do everything possible to minimise casualties,' Premier Li Qiang said, according to Xinhua on Monday. The death toll was released on Tuesday morning, hours after top leaders' warning. It stood at 28 in Miyun as of Monday, and a total of 134 villages across the city suffered blackouts. Two further fatalities were reported in other parts of Beijing, Xinhua said on Tuesday. Neighbouring Hebei province was also hit hard, with a landslide in Luanping county leading to at least eight deaths. Intensive search and rescue operations were under way for four missing people, state media reported. Hebei authorities have yet to release comprehensive casualty figures from the disaster area, where more rainfall is also expected later on Tuesday. There were also reports of two deaths from floods in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The Beijing municipal government said the maximum inflow into the Miyun Reservoir had reached 6,550 cubic metres (231,300 cubic feet) per second by 10am on Sunday – a record for the facility, which was built in 1960, and the highest flow recorded for the river since 1951. The reservoir is the largest comprehensive water conservancy project in northern China and used mainly for municipal and industrial water supply for the capital. From Thursday to midnight on Monday, the average rainfall in the capital was 165.9mm (6.5 inches), with the maximum recorded precipitation reaching 543.4mm (21.4 inches) – which qualifies as an extreme rainstorm, The Beijing News reported on Tuesday. Beijing's average annual rainfall is around 600mm (23.6 inches). The city downgraded the rainstorm alert on Tuesday morning and lifted it completely in the afternoon. The downpour has tested Beijing's infrastructure and flood prevention capacity, coming just two years after the city and the country's northern regions endured a once-in-140-years torrential rainstorm. The resulting floods in 2023 exposed north China's critical vulnerabilities in flood prevention, including a lack of water conservancy facilities in some river basins, insufficient flood control infrastructure, and poor maintenance of flood detention zones. China issued 1 trillion yuan in special treasury bonds in 2023 to support post-disaster reconstruction and improvements to disaster prevention and relief. The drainage systems in most Chinese cities are designed to withstand an hourly rainfall intensity of approximately 30-50mm – a standard that was far exceeded in the capital, which experienced 95.3mm of rain per hour in recent days, according to The Beijing News. In 2021, Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, was also hit by downpours and floods, which resulted in the death of nearly 400 people. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
New Straits Times
21 hours ago
- New Straits Times
At least 60 dead in north China following extreme rain
BEIJING: Extreme weather killed at least 60 people in northern China over the past week, with 31 deaths in an elderly care home in Beijing's hilly Miyun district in one of the deadliest floods to have hit the Chinese capital in years. In Beijing, 44 people were killed and nine were missing as of midday Thursday, deputy mayor of Beijing, Xia Linmao, said at a press conference. Heavy rains began a week ago and peaked around Beijing and surrounding provinces on Monday, with Miyun experiencing rainfall of up to 573.5 mm (22.6 inches) - levels local media described as "extremely destructive." The average annual rainfall in Beijing is around 600 mm. In the nearby province of Hebei, 16 people died as a result of the intense rainfall, authorities said. At least eight were killed in the city of Chengde just outside Beijing, with 18 unaccounted for. The deaths occurred in villages within the Xinglong area of Chengde in Hebei province, state-run Xinhua reported late on Wednesday citing local authorities, without specifying when or how the people died. The deaths in Chengde occurred in villages which border Beijing's Miyun about 25 km (16 miles) from the Miyun reservoir, the largest in China's north. The reservoir saw record-breaking overall water levels and capacity during the rains which devastated nearby towns. At its peak on Sunday, up to 6,550 cubic metres of water - about 2.5 Olympic-sized pools' worth - flooded into the reservoir every second. In another Hebei village north of the reservoir, a landslide on Monday killed eight people, with four missing. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, pose major challenges for Chinese policymakers, with officials partially attributing a slowdown in factory activity to such events.
