Two dead, 10 missing after flash floods in eastern China
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Arab News
10 hours ago
- Arab News
Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap, kills at least 30
BEIJING: Extreme weather killed at least 30 people in Beijing after a year's worth of rain fell in a matter of days, stretching the Chinese capital's disaster management capabilities and prompting some experts to call the city a rain trap. Much of the rain inundated Beijing's mountainous north near the Great Wall, with 28 deaths reported in the district of Miyun and two in Yanqing, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. It did not say when or how the deaths occurred. Heavy rain started last Wednesday and intensified around Beijing and surrounding provinces on Monday, with the capital experiencing rainfall of up to 543.4 mm (21.4 inches) in its northern districts, Xinhua said. The average annual rainfall in Beijing is around 600 mm. 'The cumulative amount of precipitation has been extremely high – reaching 80 percent to 90 percent of the annual total in just a few days in some areas,' said Xuebin Zhang of the University of Victoria in Canada and CEO of the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC). 'Very few systems are designed to handle such an intense volume of rainfall over such a short period,' Zhang said. The local topography – mountains to the west and north – 'trapped' the moist air and forced it to rise, enhancing the extraordinary amount of precipitation, he said. China's usually arid north has seen record precipitation in recent years, with some scientists linking the rainfall to global warming. In the summer of 2023, heavy rain and flooding killed at least 33 people in Beijing. Rainfall in the city of Xingtai in neighboring Hebei province exceeded 1,000 mm in two days – double the yearly average. Late on Monday, President Xi Jinping said there had been 'heavy casualties and property losses' in Beijing and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong, and ordered 'all-out' search and rescue efforts. More than 80,000 Beijing residents had been relocated, Xinhua reported, with roads and communication infrastructure damaged and power to 136 villages cut off overnight. The most intense rain occurred on Saturday in Beijing's hilly Huairou, which saw 95.3 mm of rain in one hour. In Miyun on Monday, some people were trapped at an elderly care center as water levels rose close to the roof. Emergency rescue services swam into the building and used ropes to pull out 48 people. On Tuesday, parks, libraries and museums including the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City were closed. Train and bus services in the suburbs and along waterways were suspended. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at Beijing's two airports, state media reported. 'Flood still coming' Heavy rain also pounded the province of Hebei and the city of Tianjin neighboring Beijing, which are all part of the vast Hai river basin. Four people were killed in a landslide in Hebei on Monday, with eight still missing, as six months' worth of rain fell over the weekend. In two villages in Tianjin on Monday, major roads were flooded, bridges damaged, with only the roofs of single-story houses visible, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. Heavy rain is expected to persist in parts of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin on Tuesday, the emergency management ministry said Monday night, adding that 'the disaster relief situation is complex and severe.' Some residents in the region posted on social media platform Weibo calling on authorities to expedite rescue efforts. 'The flood is still coming, and there is still no power or signal, and I still can't get in touch with my family!' a post on Tuesday morning said.
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Heavy rains leave 30 dead in Chinese capital
Heavy rains in the Chinese capital Beijing have killed 30 people and prompted authorities to evacuate 80,000, state media said Tuesday. Intense rainstorms have pummeled swathes of northern China this week, including the capital and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong. 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 center, 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 plowed flooded streets. Firefighters also rescued 48 people trapped in an elderly care center, CCTV reported. 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.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Four dead, eight missing in China landslide after heavy rain
BEIJING: A landslide triggered by unusually heavy rain killed four people and left eight others missing in northern China's Hebei province, state media said on Monday, as downpours force thousands to landslide in a village near Chengde City was 'due to heavy rainfall,' state broadcaster CCTV national emergency management department said it dispatched a team to inspect the 'severe' flooding in Hebei, which encircles the capital of northern China have been inundated in recent days, with record rain in Hebei killing two people on Saturday, state media Fuping County, more than 4,600 people were evacuated over the weekend, it in neighboring Shanxi province, one person was rescued and 13 were missing after a bus accident, CCTV from the broadcaster showed roads in Shanxi and a crop field submerged in rushing water on Beijing, more than 3,000 people in suburban Miyun district were evacuated due to torrential area's reservoir 'recorded its largest inflow flood' since it was built more than six decades ago, state media Monday in Mujiayu, a town just south of the reservoir, AFP journalists saw power lines swept away by muddy currents while military vehicles and ambulances plowed through flooded roads.A river had burst its banks, sweeping away trees, while fields of crops were inundated with flood in the capital issued the country's second-highest warning for rainstorms and the highest for floods, state news agency Xinhua downpours are expected to last until Tuesday disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing 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 it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by floods in eastern China's 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.
