Beijing issues new storm warning after deadly floods
The municipal weather service announced a red alert -- the highest in a four-tier system -- forecasting heavy rain from noon on Monday until Tuesday morning.
Most parts of the city are expected to see 100 millimetres (four inches) of rain during a six-hour period overnight, but outlying areas could experience between 150mm and 200mm, authorities said.
"There is an extremely high risk of flash floods, mudslides, landslips and other natural disasters in mountain areas," the Beijing government said on an official social media account.
"Citizens are advised not to go outside unless necessary," it said.
Tens of thousands of people in northern China were evacuated as torrential rains wreaked havoc in parts of the north since last month.
Beijing was struck hard last week, when floods in its northern suburbs killed at least 44 people and left nine missing, according to official figures.
Some 31 fatalities occurred at an elderly care centre in Miyun district, prompting a local official to admit "gaps" in disaster readiness.
Residents in flood-hit areas told AFP reporters at the scene that they had been surprised at the speed with which the rushing water inundated homes and devastated villages.
The city water authority on Monday again listed Miyun as highly vulnerable to flooding, alongside Fangshan, Mentougou and Huairou districts, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
mjw/oho/fox
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Maui firefighters battle brush fire in Ka'anapali
Firefighters in Maui are battling a brush fire burning above Kaanapali, Hawaii, on Monday. The fire is near the old Sugar Cane Train warehouse, the Maui Emergency Management Agency said. Both lanes of Honoapiʻilani Highway between Puʻukoliʻi Road and Lower Honoapiʻilani Highway have been shut down amid firefighting efforts, according to the agency. Officials asked motorists to avoid the area. MORE: Maui wildfires a year later: The major developments amid the cleanup and recovery The blaze is just a couple of miles north of where the devastating Lahaina wildfires occurred nearly two years ago. The fires, which became the fifth deadliest in U.S. history, left over 100 people dead, destroyed thousands of structures and parched the local landscape. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
News24
8 hours ago
- News24
Flood-hit Beijing prepares for new round of heavy rain as rescuers retrieve bodies
More rain is predicted for Beijing, already recovering from floods. 44 people died in July floods. Up to 200mm of rain could hit parts of Beijing, warned weather forecasters. Beijing on Monday warned residents in its mountainous suburbs to brace for another round of heavy rainfall, a week after catastrophic floods killed dozens in the deadliest deluge to hit the Chinese capital since 2012. Up to 200mm of rain could hit parts of Beijing over a six-hour period from 12:00, weather forecasters warned. The city of 22 million people receives on average 600mm of rainfall each year. The alert comes as authorities rush to reinforce ageing flood defences, fine-tune weather forecasts and update evacuation plans amid reports of bodies being pulled from raging flood waters across the country, including at least three at a flooded wellness camp in Hebei province. Late in July, at least 44 people died in Beijing after days of heavy rains. Most of the dead were people unexpectedly trapped by rapidly rising waters at a nursing home in Miyun district on the city's northeastern outskirts. Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images The fatalities led authorities to admit to shortcomings in their contingency plans for extreme weather. On Monday, Beijing had seven of its 16 districts on the highest level of preparedness for flood prevention - Mentougou, Fangshan, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Huairou, Miyun and Yanqing - most of which lie in mountainous areas to the west and north of the city. The risk of flash floods and landslides is 'extremely high', authorities said. In the summer of 2012, 79 people died in Beijing in the city's deadliest flooding in living memory. Fangshan district was the worst-hit, with one resident reporting a rise in floodwaters of 1.3m in just 10 minutes. Beijing's topography has been described by some as a rain 'trap', with its mountains to the west and north capturing moist air and amplifying any ensuing rainfall as a result. As of Saturday, torrential rains that swept through 'Beijing Valley', a riverside wellness retreat in the Hebei city of Chengde adjacent to Beijing, had claimed three lives, with four still missing, China's state news agency Xinhua reported. Around 40 people had gathered on 27 July for an event at the site, where organisers directed them into tents pitched on low-lying land next to a river bend, Caixin Media reported. By 02:00, floodwaters had risen to knee height, forcing attendees to scramble toward the camp's only exit. The site bore similarities to Camp Mystic in Texas, where at least 28 children were swept to their deaths in July by floodwaters after the Guadalupe River burst its banks amid torrential rain. In China's southern Guangdong province over the weekend, the bodies of five people were recovered after a large-scale search operation involving more than 1 300 rescuers. The five people, who went missing on Friday night, were 'swept away by water' following heavy rainfall in recent days, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canada wildfires prompt air quality warnings for Upper Midwest, Northeast
Hundreds of wildfires still burning in Canada are expected to undermine air quality across the Upper Midwest and Northeast into Tuesday. At least 738 wildfires are currently burning in Canada, with at least 201 out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. As a result, at least eight states from Wisconsin to Maine were under air quality alerts as of Monday morning due to wildfire smoke. Heavy smoke will run through that corridor on Monday, with hazy skies expected from Green Bay, through Detroit and New York City to Boston. Detroit and Chicago begin Monday listed among the world's 10 worst major cities for air quality. Those living under alerts should limit outside exertion and keep their windows closed, officials said. Alerts may remain in place through Tuesday with smoke still lingering. MORE: Flooding risk continues for the Southeast and the Plains; Canada wildfire smoke affecting US air quality
