Flooding in Beijing kills 30 and displaces 80,000 as severe rains impact northern China.
It comes as a low-pressure system tracks across China, causing flooding in the southwest of the country - with videos posted to TikTok showing landslides and cars underwater.
'The flood came rushing in, just like that, so fast and suddenly. In no time at all, the place was filling up,' said Beijing resident Zhuang Zhelin, while his neighbour Wei Zhengming told the Associated Press that he fled upstairs when the water hit.
'It was all water, front and back. I didn't want to do anything. I just ran upstairs and waited for rescue. I remember thinking, if no one came to get us, we'd be in real trouble,' said Wei.
A TikTok video uploaded by the Reuters news agency has shown a landslide in southwestern China, which the agency said has caused evacuations in the Yunnan Valley.
Authorities in northern areas of Beijing launched what they called a 'top level' emergency yesterday, ordering people to stay at home, closing schools and suspending outdoor activity including tourism and construction.
The central government said in a statement it had sent 50 million yuan (approx A$10 million) to Hebei and dispatched a high-level team of emergency responders to help the affected cities, which include Chengde, Baoding and Zhangjiakou.
President Xi Jinping has said an immediate search and rescue operation has been launched, according to Chinese state media.
The Australian embassy in China has not issued any comment or instructions to Australian residents and citizens living in Beijing.
WITH ASSCIOATED PRESS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
9 hours ago
- West Australian
Logies 2025 live updates: Australian TV celebrities take to the red carpet in Sydney
The 2025 Logies are underway at the Star Casino in Sydney where Australian TV celebrities are starting to take to the red carpet. The prestigious awards haven't got off to the best start due to wild weather in Sydney and the closure of the Harbour Bridge, due to the Palestine protest, making it more difficult than usual to arrive at the Star Casino in Pyrmont.
Sky News AU
9 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Sydney prepares for bridge march
Ooops, an error has occurred! Please call us on 1800 070 535 and we'll help resolve the issue or try again later. The Streaming Subscription provides Australians access to top rating opinion shows, award-winning political coverage, live breaking news, sport and weather, expert business insights and groundbreaking documentaries across four dedicated news channels for $5 a month. This includes: Sky News – Australia's news channel featuring award-winning journalists, insights from the biggest names in opinion, ground-breaking special investigations, and live breaking news, sport and weather. Available live and on-demand. Sky News Extra – A dedicated 24/7 channel featuring live press conferences and Parliament broadcasts, with unfiltered access to Australian democracy in action. Available live. Sky News Weather – Australia's only 24/7 weather channel bringing you the latest weather forecasts from the country's largest team of meteorologists. Available live. FOX SPORTS News – Australia's only 24/7 sports news channel, first and live in breaking sports news. Available live. Stream Sky News channel shows in full live and on-demand on or the Sky News Australia app and cast to your compatible TV. For the best streaming experience, stream your favourite Sky News shows on your compatible Smart TV. For a step-by-step guide on how to sign in on your Smart TV or to find out if your Smart TV is compatible, visit our help page. There is no lock-in contract when you subscribe to a Streaming Subscription. Renewals occur automatically unless cancelled as per full Terms and Conditions . The Streaming Subscription is not available outside of Australia. If overseas (excluding New Zealand), you can access your favourite Sky News Australia programs by signing up to Australia Channel. Sky News Australia's international 24/7 news streaming service. Find out more here. You can continue to access digital-only content, video highlights, and listen to the latest podcasts without a subscription on our website and app. The Streaming Subscription gives subscribers live stream access to unrivalled news and opinion content across four dedicated news channels 24/7.
The Advertiser
12 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Women trying to get back to Sydney drove through six metre raging floodwaters outside Cessnock
DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night. The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said. The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters. The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek. The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her. "It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday. A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters. He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers. It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved. Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon. Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced. "They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman." The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway. "Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well." He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility. Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately. "They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. " "Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for." On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene. Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks. Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday. "We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said. The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said. Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials. "In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police." DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night. The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said. The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters. The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek. The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her. "It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday. A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters. He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers. It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved. Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon. Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced. "They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman." The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway. "Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well." He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility. Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately. "They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. " "Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for." On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene. Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks. Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday. "We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said. The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said. Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials. "In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police." DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night. The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said. The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters. The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek. The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her. "It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday. A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters. He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers. It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved. Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon. Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced. "They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman." The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway. "Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well." He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility. Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately. "They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. " "Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for." On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene. Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks. Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday. "We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said. The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said. Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials. "In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police." DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night. The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said. The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters. The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek. The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her. "It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday. A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters. He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers. It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved. Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon. Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced. "They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman." The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway. "Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well." He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility. Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately. "They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. " "Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for." On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene. Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks. Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday. "We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said. The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said. Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials. "In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police."
