Four killed, eight missing as heavy rain soaks northern China
Photo:
AFP/JADE GAO
Heavy rain intensified around Beijing and nearby provinces on Monday, with four people killed in a landslide in northern Hebei and eight people missing, as authorities warned of intensifying conditions and heightened disaster risks in the coming days.
Authorities relocated more than 4400 people as colossal rain continued to pound the suburban area of Miyun in Beijing causing flash floods and landslides, impacting many villages, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Images circulated on China's Wechat app showed areas of Miyun where cars and trucks were floating on a flooded road where water levels had risen so high that it had submerged part of a residential building.
Electricity cuts are also affecting more than 10,000 people, in the area, CCTV said.
Northern China has seen record precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities, including Beijing, to flood risks. Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China's usually arid north to global warming.
China's Central Meteorological Observatory said that heavy rainfall would continue to drench northern China over the next three days. Beijing issued its highest level flood alert on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The storms are part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China due to the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world's second-largest economy.
Xiwanzi Village in Shicheng Town, near Miyun Reservoir, was severely affected, CCTV said on Monday with an additional 100 villagers transferred to a primary school for shelter.
It comes after the maximum flood peak flow into the Miyun reservoir reached a record high of 6550 cubic meters per second, Beijing authorities said on Sunday.
In neighbouring Shanxi province, videos from state media showed roads inundated by strong gushing currents and submerged vegetation including crops and trees.
Shaanxi province, home to China's historic city of Xian, also issued flash flood disaster risk warnings on Monday.
In Beijing's Pinggu District, two high-risk road sections have been sealed, authorities said.
Authorities are carrying out search and rescue work across cities including Datong, where a driver in a Ford car has lost contact while driving in the floods, the People's Daily reported.
China's Water Resources Ministry has issued targeted flood warnings to 11 provinces and regions, including Beijing and neighbouring Hebei, for floods from small and midsize rivers and mountain torrents.
Two were dead and two missing in Hebei province, CCTV said on Sunday morning. Overnight rain dumped a record 145 mm (5.7 inches) per hour on Fuping in the industrial city of Baoding.
China's National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday that it was urgently arranging 50 million yuan ($6.98 million) to support Hebei.
The funds would be used to repair damaged roads and bridges, water conservancy embankments, schools and hospitals in the disaster area. The NDRC said it was "promoting the restoration of normal life and production as soon as possible."
Chinese authorities closely monitor extreme rainfall and severe flooding are, as they challenge the country's ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on China's US$2.8 trillion agricultural sector.
- Reuters
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