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Toronto Sun
30-07-2025
- Climate
- Toronto Sun
'All gone': Beijing villagers left with nothing after deadly floods
Published Jul 30, 2025 • 3 minute read Swathes of northern China have this week endured deadly rains and floods that killed over 30 people and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP Huairou (China) (AFP) — Villager Hu Yuefang returned her home in the rural outskirts of Beijing to pick up medicine for her elderly and disabled father, only to find it had been washed away by some of worst flooding to hit the Chinese capital in years. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Swathes of northern China have endured deadly rains and floods this week that killed at least 48 people and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands. As clean-up efforts began on Wednesday, AFP journalists visited the northern Beijing district of Huairou — one of the worst-hit areas less than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the bustling city centre. In Anzhouba village, muddy waters had receded, exposing scraps of metal and broken branches. Local Hu recounted a frantic call to her stepdaughter, 23, who was home with her parents when the waters struck on Saturday night. 'But before I could finish my words, the call dropped,' she told AFP. People walk past a damaged car from floods over the past few days in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing on July 30, 2025Pedro Pardo/AFP Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP She later found out that rushing water from the river around 10 metres away had flooded the house and blocked the front door. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Her daughter was forced to kick out the window and evacuate her grandparents to the neighbour's balcony, dragging her disabled grandfather as his wife pushed from below. 'I've never seen this before, in all my 40 years of life. Neither have those who've lived 80 or 90 years,' she said. 'I returned today to retrieve his medicine, but the water swept it all away.' 'It's all gone' Wearing slippers, she marched over downed powerlines and debris from broken fences and destroyed cars as she surveyed the damage to the village where she has lived her entire life. Wang, 57, shows his flood damaged house after the recent heavy rains in Huairou districtPedro Pardo/AFP Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP Mud with streaks of silt caked her walls — evidence that the flood waters had reached at least over a metre high. 'I've already lived here for many years — my parents have lived here for almost 70 years, I've lived here for 40 — I can't bear to leave.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A small blue sofa near the front door had washed out into the alley. The family of six subsists off 2,000 ($278) to 3,000 yuan a month, Hu — a stay-at-home carer whose husband works as a labourer — said. They grow their own vegetables — from green beans, cucumbers, potatoes — but the field has been destroyed. 'It's gone. All gone, flushed away,' she said. 'Unlivable' In Liulimiao town, which covers Anzhouba village, AFP journalists saw evacuations taking place throughout Wednesday, with elderly villagers driven by bus from their mountainous homes. An older woman who declined to give her name said she was 'not allowed' to return home but had gone back anyway to check in. When the floods hit, she said, 'there was nobody paying attention to us', adding the water hit 'suddenly' on Saturday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Another villager, surnamed Wang, gazed at the destruction to his home which he built with government subsidies 15 years ago. He estimated his losses to be around 100,000 yuan ($14,000). His wife and two daughters were home and unable to open the doors when the waters 'suddenly rose'. The waters reached 1.5 metres (five feet), leaving brown muddy residue on the wall and a mounted TV. Their car, which Wang bought so his daughter could practice driving, was washed uphill from outside of their home. Five more minutes of flooding might have put his family's life in danger, he said. 'It didn't give people a chance,' Wang said. His home was now 'unlivable', he explained tearfully. 'We've become wards of the state,' he said. 'My heart feels very bad.' Toronto & GTA MLB Sunshine Girls Columnists Sunshine Girls
Newsweek
03-06-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Video Shows US Ally Confronting China in Contested Waters
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Philippine coast guard has released footage of a confrontation with its Chinese counterpart within the Southeast Asian country's maritime zone. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment via email. Why It Matters China claims the majority of the South China Sea as its territory, including areas that fall within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan. A Hague-based arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines in 2016 and rejected China's claims. Beijing has called the decision illegitimate. The further expansion of Chinese maritime forces into the Philippine EEZ has been met with pushback under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The resulting dramatic clashes have raised the specter of the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, which could draw Washington into a conflict with the East Asian power. A Chinese coast guard ship seen from the Port of Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province on February 22. A Chinese coast guard ship seen from the Port of Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province on February 22. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images What To Know While much of the neighbors' dispute has centered on uninhabited reefs and sandbanks, since the start of the year China's coast guard has maintained a steady presence closer to Luzon, the major Philippine island that's home to the capital, Manila. On Saturday, the Philippine coast guard deployed the 144-foot BRP Cabra to challenge the much larger CCG 3105—a Chinese coast guard cutter operating about 86 miles from Luzon's Zambales province and well within the country's 230-mile-wide EEZ, a spokesperson for the Philippine coast guard wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. Video shows the Philippine crew broadcasting radio warnings and ordering their Chinese counterpart to leave the EEZ, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which both countries are signatories. Later that day, the Cabra responded to a distress call from a fishing boat with engine trouble. The cutter towed the stricken vessel back to Zambales' Subic Port. In Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with his Japanese, Australian and Philippine counterparts over the weekend on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit. The meetings were held amid doubts following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff broadsides and remarks questioning the utility of Washington's security commitments in the region. The officials voiced concern over China's growing assertiveness and stressed the importance of maintaining the status quo. What People Are Saying Jay Tarriela, a Philippine coast guard spokesperson, wrote on X: "The actions of BRP Cabra and its crew reflect the commitment of the [Philippine coast guard] to uphold the directive of the president, reinforcing the Philippines' rights in the West Philippine Sea." Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said during Tuesday's regular news conference: "The U.S., together with Japan, Australia, and the Philippines, brazenly spread the false accusation of 'China threat' at the Shangri-La Dialogue and sought to use the East China Sea issue and the South China Sea issue to sow discord and incite confrontation between regional countries. ... We will not flinch in defending China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests." What Happens Next China and the Philippines are firmly entrenched in their positions, and a diplomatic breakthrough appears unlikely anytime soon. Speaking with Newsweek at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro criticized China's actions, saying the country suffered from a "trust deficit." He said Manila was working toward building an "international coalition to increase deterrence."
