At least two people were killed amid torrential rains and floods in the Chinese capital city, Beijing, on Monday (July 31) where roads were turned into rivers trapping hundreds of people overnight, as per media reports. This comes after thousands of people were evacuated over the weekend following the Chinese weather agency’s issuance of a ‘red alert’ for heavy rainfall.
What is happening in Beijing?
On Saturday, the Chinese weather agency issued a red alert – the highest warning – for torrential rain in Beijing, home to 22 million people. Since then, over 31,000 people have been evacuated, reported the country’s state media, on Monday.
Images and videos from Beijing show streets transformed into rivers overnight, affecting as many as 358 roads across the Chinese capital where cars were seen submerged while others were swept away in the floods.
In Beijing’s western suburbs, Mentougou district, rescuers found two bodies in a river during an emergency patrol and reported that hundreds were pulled to safety.
“This morning it was crazy, the water overflowed the Mentougou river and the whole avenue was flooded,” Guo Zhenyu, a 49-year-old resident, told AFP.
The average rainfall in Beijing reached 176.9 mm between Saturday night and Monday afternoon with the maximum recorded rainfall in Mentougou hitting 580.9 mm, according to the state media.
More than 4,000 construction sites were halted in Beijing, and almost 20,000 buildings were inspected for damage. Beijing residents had been asked not to go outside unless necessary, leaving the usually buzzing streets mostly deserted over the weekend.
Both airports in the Chinese capital cancelled more than 200 flights on Monday afternoon, with close to 600 delayed, said a report by Reuters citing data from flight tracking app Flight Master.
Video | Firefighters rescue man trapped in car
A video by state television CCTV shows firefighters rescuing a man trapped in his car after being caught in strong gushing floodwaters in the Chinese city of Wu’an, Hebei province.
Situation in neighbouring provinces
The heavy rains due to storm Doksuri, which was downgraded from a typhoon, also led to the issuance of alerts in Beijing’s neighbouring city of Tianjin as well as Hebei province. According to reports, three of the five rivers that make up the Hai River basin rose to dangerous levels on Monday.
Additionally, some houses washed away in the Yongding River while at least 55,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Baoding City, as per media reports. A driver was also reported missing after two trucks fell off a collapsed bridge in Baoding city, on Sunday.
Chen Hong, a resident of the southern Fengtai district, shared footage with AFP that showed a parked van half-submerged in fast-flowing muddy water on Monday morning.
“Once it starts raining the road turns into a drain, and there’s water on the first floor inside houses,” Chen told the news agency. He also spoke about how since the houses are old they have raised concerns about safety.
Chinese forecasters also warned about the approach of another storm named ‘Khanun’, which is expected to rapidly gain strength and strike China’s densely populated coast next week. While Doksuri got downgraded from a typhoon, the Chinese weather agency upgraded Khanun to typhoon from tropical storm status on Sunday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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