- Heavy Rains in Beijing Leave 11 Dead and 27 Missing
- Storm Doksuri Causes Severe Flooding in Beijing
- Chinese Authorities Respond to Severe Rainfall with Evacuations and Relief Efforts
Beijing, flooding roads and engulfing neighborhoods with mud.
Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, had traversed China in a northerly direction since making landfall in southern Fujian province on Friday, after having previously ravaged the Philippines.
Beijing received nearly the whole month of July’s rainfall in 40 hours on Saturday.
Large portions of Beijing’s suburbs continue to be severely impacted by the city’s heaviest rainfall in years.
On Tuesday, CCTV reported 11 deaths and 27 missing from the rains. According to the report, among the deceased were two employees “killed on duty during rescue and relief” efforts.
The state-owned newspaper Global Times said that over 100,000 city residents were evacuated.
AFP correspondents saw muddy debris on the road on Mentougou’s riverbanks.
A local senior told AFP that he had not witnessed such severe flooding since July 2012, when 79 people were murdered and tens of thousands were evacuated.
“This time it’s much bigger than that,” he said, declining to provide his name.
“It’s a natural disaster, there’s nothing you can do.” A man in his twenties named Qi told AFP as he and his grandmother waited for a taxi outside a hospital.
“We must continue to work diligently and rebuild,” he added.
Twelve emergency vehicles, including water-tank-equipped trucks and bulldozers, were seen between Shijingshan and Mentougou.
Workers in vibrant orange raincoats used shovels to clear the road, which was still partially blocked off.
chaotic settings
Tuesday, President Xi Jinping demanded “every effort” be made to extricate those “lost or trapped” by the rains.
Xi was quoted by CCTV as saying that local authorities “must do a good job of treating the injured, consoling the families of victims, and minimizing casualties.”
“They must properly relocate affected individuals, repair damaged transportation, communication, and electricity infrastructure, and quickly restore normal production and life,” he added.
“Xi Jinping also emphasized that the critical period for flood control is currently late July and early August,” according to state media.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed the nation’s condolences for the lives lost due to the torrential downpour. He stated, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones.”
Pakistan and China are long-lasting allies and partners who share happiness and sorrow. In this time of sorrow, the entire Pakistani nation stands by our Chinese brothers and sisters,” he said.
PM Shehbaz added, “I also extend my best wishes for the ongoing relief and rescue efforts. And we are prepared to offer all possible assistance.”
As torrential rains produced flash floods in China, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari offered his sympathies and prayers.
Climate change is a problem for all of us. I am confident that the resilient Chinese people will shortly weather this storm,” he wrote on the now-defunct Twitter platform X.
CCTV footage from southwest Beijing’s Fangshan neighbourhood shows buses half-submerged in floodwater Tuesday morning.
The local Communist Party newspaper Beijing Daily reported that approximately 150,000 households in Mentougou were without flowing water, with 45 water tankers dispatched to provide emergency supplies.
On Monday, local media released video footage depicting tumultuous scenes aboard high-speed rail trains that had been stranded on tracks for as long as 30 hours, with passengers complaining that they had run out of food and water.
Rainstorms in Hebei province continue to prompt red alerts for flash floods and landslides.
The Beijing Daily also stated that the city triggered a 1998 flood control reservoir for the first time.
In Handan, Hebei, rescuers used a crane to save a guy stranded on his car by floodwaters.
This summer, China has experienced extreme weather and temperature records, events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change.
Another typhoon, Khanun, is approaching China’s east coast.
