The torrential rains that hit the north of China this week left 30 dead and trained more than 80,000 evacuations in Beijing, state media announced on Tuesday, July 29.
The Chinese weather agency issued its second highest level of precipitation alert for the Chinese capital on Tuesday, on a scale, counting four, the official Chinese news agency Nouvelle reported.
The neighboring regions of Hebei and Tianjin also worry, as well as ten provinces in the north, east and southern China. Violent rains are expected until Wednesday, according to the same source.
In Beijing, “the last series of violent thunderstorms left 30 people (…) until midnight on Monday,” China Nouvelle wrote, citing the Municipal Flood Center.
“A total of 80,332 people moved” due to bad weather, local Beijing Daily, an official medium, said on the Wechat platform.
Of “serious disasters”
In the Miyun district, the most severely affected, in the northeast of Beijing, a resident said that he saw the waters drinking vehicles in front of his building.
The AFP journalists on the site have seen a machine machine put people and a dog in security, and rescuers vade on their knees.
Near, in the city of Mujiayu, the AFP journalists have seen a reservoir that releases a torrent of water, and ambulances and military vehicles cross the flooded streets. The electricity lines were dragged by muddy torrents.
Firefighters also rescued 48 people trapped in a Center for the Elderly, the CCTV public channel reported.
Beijing’s newspaper spoke of “extremely strong continuous rains” to have caused “serious disasters.” The Daily also reported dozens of closed roads and more than 130 villages of private electricity.
“Please pay attention to weather forecasts and alerts and do not go to risk areas, except if necessary,” said the publication. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, urged the authorities on Monday night to accelerate the refuge of the residents of the areas that can be flooded.
66 million euros in unlocked assistance
The Government has released 350 million yuan (42 million euros) for emergency operations in nine regions affected by intense precipitation, CCTV announced on Tuesday. According to Beijing, a separate 200 million yuan (24 million euros) was reserved for Beijing.
In the province of Hebei, which surrounds the capital, a landslide in a village had killed four people and made eight missing on Monday, according to CCTV. Local authorities issued a sudden flood alert, in force until Tuesday night. Chengde, the regional capital, and its surroundings are attacked by the highest level of alert.
Natural disasters are common in China, especially during the summer, when certain regions are overwhelmed by torrential rains, while others are available to intense heat waves.
China is the largest greenhouse gas transmitter that, according to scientists, accelerates climate change and makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
The Asian giant is also an important player in the renewable energy sector, and aims to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060.
In early July, the floods suffered in the province of Shandong (Northeast) left two dead and ten missing. In addition, in the province of Sichuan (southwest), a landslide on a road caused five people.
In 2023, violent precipitation had resulted in more than 80 people in the north and northeast of China, including at least 29 in the province of Hebei, where serious floods had destroyed houses and cultures.
Source: BFM TV
