Beijing and Hebei hit by severe weather, death toll mounts. Photo courtesy: NBC NEWS
(The Post News)- Heavy rains and flooding have killed 30 people in Beijing, authorities in the Chinese capital reported on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from the storms in the region to at least 34. A city government statement said that 28 people had died in its hard-hit Miyun district and two others in Yanqing district as of midnight.
Both are outlying parts of the sprawling city, far from the downtown. More heavy rain fell overnight in the area.The death toll from the storms has risen, with 30 fatalities reported in Beijing and four people killed in a landslide in a rural part of Luanping county in neighboring Hebei province.
Eight others were missing, and a resident told the state-backed Beijing News that communications were down and he couldn’t reach his relatives.The storms have brought significant rainfall to Beijing, with more than 16 centimeters of rain recorded on average by midnight Tuesday. Two towns in Miyun recorded 54 centimeters of precipitation, and authorities in Miyun released water from a reservoir that was at its highest level since it was built in 1959.
Authorities warned people to stay away from rivers downstream as their levels rose and as more heavy rain was forecast.The flooding has caused widespread damage, with the storm knocking out power in more than 130 villages in Beijing, destroying communication lines, and damaging more than 30 sections of road. Heavy flooding washed away cars and downed power poles in Miyun, which borders Hebei’s Luanping county. Uprooted trees lay in piles with their bare roots exposed in the town of Taishitun.Residents have shared their experiences of the flooding, with Zhuang Zhelin describing how the flood came rushing in, just like that, so fast and suddenly. In no time at all, the place was filling up.
Wei Zhengming, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, also shared his harrowing experience, saying it was all water, front and back, and he didn’t want to do anything but run upstairs and wait for rescue.Beijing authorities launched a top-level emergency response at 8 p.m. Monday, ordering people to stay inside, closing schools, suspending construction work, and stopping outdoor tourism and other activities until the response is lifted. The heaviest rain in Beijing was expected early Tuesday, with rainfall of up to 30 centimeters forecast for some areas.
The central government has provided support to the affected areas, saying in a statement it had sent 50 million yuan to Hebei and dispatched a high-level team of emergency responders to help the affected cities. Another 10,000 people were evacuated from the nearby Jizhou district under the city of Tianjin.
The region is still recovering from severe flooding in 2023.Beijing and Hebei suffered severe flooding in 2023, and the current flooding has brought back memories of the previous disaster. The authorities are working to mitigate the impact of the current disaster and provide support to those affected.
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