At least 30 people have been confirmed dead and tens of thousands displaced in Beijing after days of relentless torrential rain triggered widespread flooding and deadly landslides across swathes of northern China, state media reported Tuesday.
The unprecedented downpours have prompted China’s meteorological authorities to issue a second-highest level rainstorm warning for the capital and surrounding areas, including Hebei and Tianjin, as well as 10 additional provinces in the north, east, and south. The intense rainfall is forecast to continue into Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
As of midnight Monday, Beijing’s Municipal Flood Control Headquarters reported 30 fatalities due to the latest round of storms. The hardest-hit areas include Miyun District in the city’s northeast, Huairou District to the north, and Fangshan District in the southwest.
“This time the rain was unusually heavy, it’s not normally like this,” said a Miyun resident surnamed Jiang, speaking to AFP as floodwaters coursed through the streets outside her home. “The road is full of water, so people aren’t going to work.”
Authorities have evacuated more than 80,000 residents in the capital alone, Beijing Daily reported on social media. Nearly 130 villages have lost electricity, and dozens of roads have been closed due to water damage or landslides.
In the flood-stricken Miyun District, another resident, surnamed Liu, said he watched helplessly as cars were swept away by rising floodwaters outside his apartment block early Monday morning. Video footage and photographs captured by AFP journalists in the area showed rescuers using a crawler to evacuate residents and even a dog, while military vehicles navigated waist-deep waters and ambulances rushed to aid those trapped.
In one dramatic rescue operation, 48 elderly residents were saved from a care home submerged by floodwaters, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Xi Jinping Orders Urgent Action
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged officials to plan for worst-case scenarios and expedite evacuation efforts to safeguard lives and property. Local governments, particularly in flood-prone areas, were instructed to intensify search and rescue operations and bolster disaster response infrastructure.
In support of these emergency measures, the central government has allocated 350 million yuan (approximately $49 million) in disaster relief funds for nine regions affected by the extreme weather. A separate 200 million yuan ($28 million) fund has been earmarked specifically for Beijing, CCTV said.
The relief funding covers a wide area, including the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Shandong, and Guangdong, in addition to Beijing and Tianjin.
In Hebei province, which borders the capital, a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde killed four people, with eight others still unaccounted for, CCTV reported. The region has been placed under the highest flood alert, and local broadcasters have issued flash flood warnings effective through Tuesday evening.
Ongoing Vulnerabilities and Climate Impacts
Northern China is particularly vulnerable to floods during the summer months, and the frequency and intensity of such disasters have been increasing. Last year, over 80 people were killed during similar downpours across northern and northeastern China, including 29 in Hebei, where entire towns and farmlands were devastated. At the time, some reports suggested Hebei bore the brunt of flooding due to a government decision to divert water from the capital.
Other recent weather-related disasters in China include deadly flash floods in eastern Shandong earlier this month, which killed two people and left 10 missing. In Sichuan province, a highway landslide killed five people after several cars were swept off a mountainside.
Scientists attribute the rising severity of such natural disasters to climate change. China is currently the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, a key contributor to global warming. However, the country is also leading efforts in renewable energy expansion, and it has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Public Safety and Precautions
Authorities are urging residents to remain indoors and avoid flood-prone or mountainous areas unless absolutely necessary. “Please pay attention to weather forecasts and warnings and do not go to risk areas unless necessary,” Beijing Daily warned.
Rescue and relief efforts continue across affected provinces as forecasters warn of continued rainfall into Wednesday. With the full extent of damage still being assessed, the death toll could rise further as emergency teams work to reach isolated communities.
As climate change continues to intensify weather extremes globally, China faces a critical challenge: to manage growing environmental risks while striving to protect its population and infrastructure from increasingly unpredictable natural disasters.
Written By Rodney Mbua
