Latest news with #torrentialrain
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
Streets turn to rivers as deadly flooding inundates northern Beijing
By Nectar Gan and Joyce Jiang , CNN Flooding in Miyun district, on the outskirts of Beijing, on 28 July. Photo: Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Days of torrential rain have killed at least 30 people in the northern outskirts of Beijing, state media reported Tuesday, as China grapples with yet another deadly rainy season marked by extreme downpours, devastating floods and landslides. In recent days, intense rainstorms have battered much of northern China - a densely populated part of the country home to massive metropolises as well as agricultural heartlands. There, residents and their livelihoods have become increasingly vulnerable to worsening summer storms and floods, as well as scorching heatwaves and drought - posing a major challenge to the Chinese government as the climate crisis makes extreme weather more frequent and intense. The pounding rain intensified around the Chinese capital on Monday, killing 28 people in Miyun, an outlying mountainous suburb in the city's northeast home to more than half a million people; another two were killed in Yanqing, also in the city's north, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported. Footage circulating on social media shows brown floodwater sweeping through residential communities, washing away cars, knocking down electricity poles and turning streets into rivers in Miyun. Dozens of roads have been damaged, potentially complicating rescue efforts, and in more than 100 smaller, more rural villages, the downpours have also cut off electricity. More than 80,000 people have been relocated, including about 17,000 in Miyun, according to CCTV. Some residents have described their horror on social media. A woman from a small town in Miyun wrote on Xiaohongshu, China's Instagram, that she spent Monday night filled with "a pervasive sense of fear," as a nearby river overflowed, gushing with trees, vehicles and construction debris. "The place where I grew up was destroyed overnight. I never imagined that such devastation would occur even within the capital, Beijing," she wrote. Firefighters arrived Tuesday morning for rescue, and telecommunication teams were still trying to recover phone signals in the remote area, she said. Some residents are assisting in rescue efforts, using boats and excavators to evacuate those trapped by the floodwater. A local man rescued 17 people with his boat, and another man used his excavator to relocate more than 80 people to safety, a Miyun resident told CCTV. Authorities discharged floodwater from a reservoir in Miyun on Monday after its maximum flood peak flow reached a record high of 6550 cubic meters per second, to make space for incoming torrents, Xinhua reported. Beijing saw an average rainfall of about 166 millimetres during the recent days of heavy downpours, according to state news agency Xinhua - more than the city's average rainfall for the whole month of July. The maximum rainfall was recorded in Miyun, at 543mm, almost equalling Beijing's average annual rainfall. On Monday, Beijing issued its highest-level flood alert, urging residents to stay away from swelling rivers. The city's meteorological observatory also issued a red alert for rainstorms - the highest in a four-tier system, warning of intensifying rain during the night and "extremely high risk" of flash floods, mudslides and landslides in mountainous areas. Authorities have ordered schools, construction sites and scenic spots across the city to be closed, and all rural homestays and campsites to suspend operations. By Tuesday afternoon, the rains had stopped in central Beijing, and floodwaters had begun to subside in its outskirts. The heavy rainfall and the accompanying floods and geological disasters have caused "significant casualties and property losses" in Beijing and the northern provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said on Monday, according to CCTV. Xi instructed officials to make "all-out effort" to search and rescue those still missing, properly evacuate resettle residents at risk and minimize casualties to the greatest extent possible. David Perdue, the newly appointed US ambassador to China, offered his condolences to the victims. "I was very sorry to hear about the loss of life in China, including Beijing, due to the heavy rains. We offer our sincere condolences to those who have lost family members and loved ones," he wrote on social platform X. The deadly rains and floods came just two years after the Chinese capital was pounded by record rains that killed 33 people. In 2023, Beijing was struck by its heaviest rainfall in 140 years, which unleashed severe flash floods in its mountainous western outskirts. Many provinces in northern China have reported deaths caused by the heavy rainfall. In Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, a landslide killed four people and left another eight missing, state media reported Monday. In neighbouring Shanxi province, a bus carrying 14 people went missing near a village in the small hours of Sunday. Authorities found the body of a passenger downstream and were still searching for the others, Xinhua reported. In the coastal province of Shandong, flash floods destroyed 19 houses in foothill villages last week, killing two people and leaving 10 more missing, after half a year's worth of rain fell in five hours overnight. In Hebei, some residents trapped by floods and landslides have called for help on social media. A woman from Yangjiatai, a mountainous village in Chengde city, Hebei province, near Miyun, told CNN her village has been hit by flooding and a landslide, which collapsed houses, cut off roads and knocked out electricity and signal. She had made her way out of the village to call for help. "Most people haven't been evacuated - only a few individuals are able to come out to communicate with the outside world and bring back some supplies," she said. - CNN
CTV News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Flash floods in Romania kill at least 3 people and force hundreds of evacuations
In this image released by the Romanian Emergency Services Suceava (ISU Suceava) a house is damaged after a flash flood in the village of Brosteni, northern Romania, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Romanian Emergency Services - ISU Suceava via AP) BUCHAREST, Romania — Torrential rainstorms hit Romania overnight and into Monday, triggering flash floods in the country's northeast and killing at least three people, officials said. Hundreds were forced to leave their homes as Romania's rescue services deployed in the hard-hit counties of Neamt and Suceava. Helicopters and firefighters rescued residents, some of whom were trapped in their homes by floodwaters. Authorities said that 890 people were evacuated from Neamt. First responders found a 66-year-old man dead at the bottom of a stream in the town of Neagra, according to the Department for Emergency Situations. Two women who had been reported missing were also later found dead. Authorities also released images showing raging muddy floodwaters strewn with battered vehicles and other debris, as well as damaged homes.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Met Office issues thunderstorm warning as stormy conditions to batter south coast and trains suspended amid flooding fears
Parts of South East England were battered by torrential downpours today with more than an inch of rain falling in just an hour as trains were suspended due to flooding. The Met Office imposed a yellow thunderstorm warning for parts of East Sussex and Kent until 5pm, covering Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Folkestone and Dover. Some areas were told to expect 20mm (0.8in) to 25mm (1in) of rain in less than an hour, with 30mm (1.2in) to 40mm (1.6in) in one to two hours in a few locations. The alert, which was activated as soon as it was announced at 12.52pm, comes amid concerns driving conditions will be affected by spray and standing water. Forecasters also warned of power cuts; damage to buildings and structures from lightning strikes; flooding of homes and businesses; and delays to public transport. Train operator Southern said its services between Hastings and Ashford International were cancelled this afternoon after the railway flooded and blocked all lines. It comes a day after England's fourth major hosepipe ban of summer came into force as Thames Water activated restrictions for more than one million customers. Homes served by the firm in parts of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Berkshire were hit by the ban following one of the driest springs on record. Despite four days of downpours since Saturday, company bosses said they could not confirm when restrictions will end because it is "generally waiting for rain". Some 1.1million customers with postcodes OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and RG9 now have the ban - but it was avoided by London, which is also served by Thames Water. The ban follows Southern Water activating restrictions for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on Monday. That followed other bans implemented by South East Water for parts of Kent and Sussex last Friday, and in the Yorkshire Water region since July 11.
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Flash flooding and downpours bring chaos to roads and railways across Scotland
Flash flooding and torrential downpours have brought chaos to roads and railways across Scotland after more than two weeks worth of rain fell overnight. All trains between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh on the scenic Kyle Railway Line were cancelled after the track between Garve and Achanalt, in Ross-shire, was submerged underwater. Network Rail was forced to close the line after the heavy rain caused a 'significant' amount of silt and floodwater to cover the track. Images also showed the road leading to the station at Achanalt badly damaged and strewn with mud and gravel after more than two and a half inches (66.4mm) of rain - more than two weeks worth - fell between 2pm on Monday and 5am yesterday. To show the extent of the flooding, Network Rail shared a photo of the submerged track at Achanalt station, saying: 'Here's some footage of what we're dealing with at Achanalt. 'The speed and volume of the floodwater, plus the silt it's washing onto the tracks, makes it unsafe to run trains here.' Engineers were sent to assess the track with an inspection expected to take several hours as they worked to clear the lines. ScotRail confirmed that no stations along the route would be served until at least the end of the day [Tuesday]. The operator said: 'Our staff onsite continue to work to clear large amounts of debris and silt which are obstructing the track after previous flood water. The line remains closed.' Elsewhere in the Highlands water was seen streaming like a river onto the busy A835 near Ullapool, while two inches of rain fell near Loch Droma, which led to tumultuous water falls at Corrieshalloch Gorge. In Newton St Boswells, Roxburghshire, the water levels became so deep one resident was seen using a paddle board to cross a flooded section of road which had become impassible. Several buildings, including a Lidl supermarket, in Perth, were also reported to have been forced to shut due to the torrential downpours, with a yellow weather warning for parts of the country ending at 6am yesterday [Tuesday] as residents likened the conditions to a 'monsoon'. It comes as forecasters gave a glimmer of hope that the sun would break through the clouds later this week with a chance of thermometers hitting above 20C in cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh. But the Met office warned the sunshine will be 'quite short lived'. Meanwhile, residents in Tobermory, on the island of Mull, have been urged to take short showers amid 'extremely low' water supplies. Scottish Water has urged residents to use water as efficiently as possible in homes, businesses and gardens to help protect resources and maintain normal supplies following what has been the driest start to the year across Scotland since 1964.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
At least 14 dead in ‘once-in-a-century' storms in South Korea
At least 14 people have died and 12 are missing after five days of torrential rain in South Korea in what the national weather agency described as a 'once-in-a-century' event. The country's southern regions have received up to 600-800 millimetres of rain since Wednesday, some of the heaviest hourly rainfall on record. Torrential downpours hit Gapyeong, a resort town 70km east of Seoul on early Sunday, leaving at least two dead and four missing. One person was found dead after being swept away by the floods, and another was killed after their house collapsed because of the heavy rainfall. There are concerns that the death toll could continue to rise, with 12 people still missing according to the Ministry of the Interior and the Safety and National Fire Agency on Sunday. Over 2,000 public buildings have been damaged across the country, according to the ministry, with reports of damage to farmland and the death of livestock. Communication remains unstable in the areas hit by flooding, and many sites remain inaccessible, according to local reports. Footage shows heavy rainfall in the south of the country, with submerged vehicles, roads blocked by water, people wading through the streets and the extensive damage to farmland. In response to the floods, Lee Jae-myung, South Korea's president, ordered on Sunday for the areas that were hit the hardest by the extreme weather to be designated as special disaster zones, and the government has set up a multi-agency recovery effort. The majority of deaths have occurred in the southern county of Sancheong, with eight people killed and six others unaccounted for in the town following landslides, flash floods and the collapse of houses after experiencing almost 800 millimetres of rainfall since Wednesday. Earlier this week, three people were found dead in a flooded car, and a person was also killed after their car was buried by soil and concrete after an overpass collapsed in Osan, south of Seoul. Across the region, nearly 10,000 people have evacuated their homes since Wednesday, while more than 41,000 households have temporarily lost power, the BBC reports. South Korea also endured heavy rain and flooding in 2022, killing at least 11 people. The rain has mostly stopped in the worst-affected southern and central areas, with the rainfall moving north overnight and is expected to last until Monday in some areas, before a heatwave next week. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
