At least 60 dead in north China following extreme rain, authorities say
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Winter storms bring heavy snow, black ice, flood risks and rain to NSW
Heavy snow is falling in the northern tablelands of New South Wales as rain batters others parts of the state. On Saturday afternoon, the NSW SES had issued 28 warnings for residents across the Coffs coast, mid north coast, upper Hunter and New England. The SES warned 24-hour rainfall totals between 65 and 100mm were likely, with isolated falls exceeding 130mm possible. The assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan said heavy and persistent rain could result in some roads being flooded and becoming impassable. 'We've had crews in Tamworth doorknocking low-lying areas to alert locals of potential localised flash flooding and road closures overnight tonight,' Hogan said. 'We implore the community to never drive, walk or play in floodwater – if you come across a flooded road, turn around and find an alternative route.' The heavy rainfall is causing rivers to rise, with moderate flooding along the Peel river at Tamworth and Namoi river at Gunnedah. Unusual snow levels had been reported at Armidale and Guyra, and falls of up to 50cm are possible throughout Saturday. Hogan said black ice was a significant risk and was causing dangerous road conditions throughout the northern tablelands. 'We have road crash crews prepositioned and ready to respond to any rescues, but we ask the community to please avoid unnecessary travel,' she said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'If you do need to be on the roads in areas with snow, drive with caution, always use your brakes gently and drive slowly.' Damaging wind gusts exceeding 90km/h and large and powerful surf are also forecast. More than 1,000 NSW SES volunteers have been deployed across the state. The SES has responded to 750 calls since the onset of the bad weather.
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- The Guardian
Weather tracker: deadly floods devastate northern China
At least 70 people have died in northern China after another bout of torrential rain triggered flooding, the latest in a series of extreme rainfall events in recent months. Between 23 and 29 July, Beijing and its surrounding areas recorded an average of 166mm, equivalent to the monthly norm. The suburban district of Miyun received the highest amount of rainfall, with 543mm recorded, equivalent to the region's annual average. The death toll included 31 people in a Miyun care home, 10 who were swept away in a minibus in Shangxi province, and eight people in a landslide in the city of Chengde. Floods also damaged roads and vital infrastructure, cutting off more than 130 rural villages and leading to the evacuation of more than 80,000 people from their homes. The increasing frequency of high-rainfall events in China has been linked to rising global temperatures; each degree in warming enables the atmosphere to hold 7% more moisture. Meanwhile, Japan is braced for Tropical Storm Krosa on Friday, which is expected to skirt past the south-eastern Kanto region via the Izu islands. Although Krosa travelled towards Japan during its initial north-westerly path, a forecasted change to a more north-easterly direction means the system is likely to avoid a direct hit. However, its close proximity to the Chiba region may bring 120-200mm of rain in 24 hours. This week, as much of Europe experiences below-average temperatures, parts of Scandinavia have been engulfed by unusually intense heat. Prolonged heatwave conditions swept the north of the continent in mid-July, driven by exceptionally high sea-surface temperatures off Norway's northern coast and a stubborn area of high pressure that brought sunny weather and sinking, compressing air. As a result, temperatures in Norway, Sweden and Finland rose 8-10C (46-40F) above seasonal norms and remained elevated for nearly two weeks. The Norwegian counties of Trøndelag and Nordland exceeded 30C for 13 consecutive days, including in Storforsheia, just north of the Arctic Circle. It was the warmest two-week period on record in several areas. In the past week, the heat has shifted north and east, easing across much of Norway and Sweden and pushing temperatures 10-15C above normal in Finland and north-western Russia. Temperatures in the upper 20s celsius are likely to persist for at least the next five days several hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Explainer: How prepared are U.S. grid operators for extreme heat this summer?
Aug 1 (Reuters) - Grid operators across the U.S. are revamping their forecasting methods, introducing reforms to power markets and streamlining interconnection processes to quickly connect more energy to the grid, as a potent combination of extreme weather and data center growth elevate power demand this summer. High temperatures and the expansion of power-hungry data centers are set to push 2025 summer power consumption to higher levels than the past four summers, federal regulators said earlier this year. Heat waves have already strained the power grid in parts of the country in recent weeks. 'Extreme weather events are becoming more common, and we are adjusting our planning for that,' said Dan Lockwood, PJM Interconnection spokesperson. Here's how grid operators are positioned to meet demand this summer, and longer-term measures they are taking to shore up the system. Heading into the summer, PJM had forecast power consumption to peak at just over 154,000 MW. The company, which is the largest grid operator in the U.S. and serves one in five Americans, said it is prepared to meet that demand, but warned that it could touch an all-time high of 166,000 MW in an extreme scenario. In that case, it would call on customers to reduce their power use in exchange for compensation. PJM has been streamlining its interconnection process to bring new power onto the grid. It has also fast-tracked projects that do not require extensive grid upgrades to connect to the system to get them online quicker. California Independent System Operator estimated it has a power surplus of 1,451 MW this summer, measured against the industry-standard, one in 10 year emergency event. That marks a reversal from three years ago, when it estimated a shortfall of 1,700 MW. CAISO has also been moving to quickly add new power to its grid, with around 25 GW added over the last five years, said Dede Subakti, vice president of system operations. Much of this has been battery storage, which helps balance supply and demand, bringing CAISO's total pool of battery storage to 11 GW. 'With all this additional capacity, we're sitting pretty good with 2025 summer,' Subakti said. However, the grid could still see shortfalls if a prolonged heat-wave affects the entire West, or if potential wildfires damage power transmission lines, CAISO said. ISO New England anticipates electricity demand will touch 24,803 MW this summer under normal weather conditions - and potentially 25,886 MW in case of extended heat waves - but expects to have adequate power to meet that. ISO-NE is one of the grid operators that is evaluating changes to its capacity auction to bolster grid reliability. This includes transitioning to a 'prompt' auction, held shortly before the power is needed, compared with the current practice of holding them three years in advance. In addition, it is looking to move to two seasonal commitment periods per year for the auction, to tackle the distinct risks that summer and winter demand pose to the grid. It intends to file an initial proposal for this new market structure with federal regulators before year end. Midcontinent Independent System Operator predicted that peak demand in its footprint could reach nearly 123 GW this summer, with roughly 138 GW of available power generation to meet that. Like other grid operators, however, it warned that extreme weather events still present a risk to the grid. MISO, which has been operating near its minimum reserve margin requirement since 2022, has also been making changes to its wholesale markets as grid risks grow, including assessing the reliability of its infrastructure on a seasonal basis. It implemented a 'reliability-based demand curve' in its latest auction, under which the price of electricity resources increases as the grid approaches its minimum requirements. MISO has added around 31 GW of nameplate power to its grid from 2020 through mid-2025, with another 10.9 GW estimated for this year. Meanwhile, nearly 11 GW of power resources have or are set to retire between 2020 through early 2026.
