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Rainfall in Beijing: China’s capital city is facing nature’s fury in the form of record-breaking rainfall in past few days. Beijing witnessed its heaviest-ever-rainfall in at least 140 years.
Also read: Climate Change: US, Europe reel under historic heatwave, while Asia battles torrential rain, floods
The city recorded 744.8 milimeters of rainfall(29.3 inches) between Saturday and Wednesday morning. Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have been hit by severe flooding because of the record rainfall. Torrential rainfall has also resulted in water levels rising to dangerous levels. Videos of cars being swept away due to severe flooding in Beijing are widely shared on the internet.
Also Read: US and China discuss climate crisis as world reels from heatwaves, wildfires, floods
Heavy rainfall caused destruction of roads, power cuts, water supply cut in many cities of the country. The flooded rivers surrounding the capital left cars submerged in water.
Hardest hit areas in China
Out of all the Western China, Zhuozhou is the worst hit city. It is located in Hebei province that borders Beijing’s southwest. On Tuesday night, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work. There is still no clear numbers about the number of people trapped in flood-stricken areas the city and surrounding villages.
Also Read: China battles extreme weather, flood destroys crops, heatstroke kills animals
On Wednesday, waters in Gu’an county in Hebei, which borders Zhuozhou, reached as high as halfway up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed.
Gu’an county resident Liu Jiwen, 58, was evacuated from his village on Tuesday night. “There’s nothing we can do. It’s natural disaster,” he said. Two other people who were passing through the flooded areas to rescue people stranded in the nearby village.
Torrential region in the capital city has caused arund 20 deaths and left more than 27 people misssing. Nature’s fury forced more than 850,000 people to relocate to relief and rescue camps, local authorities in Hebei province said.
Last time when the city was lashed with such a severe level of flood was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday, when the city received 609 millimeters (24 inches) of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883.
The worst is not over
The record rainfall from Typhoon Doksuri may not be the last. Typhoon Khanun, which was lashing Japan on Wednesday, is expected to head toward China later this week. The powerful storm has surface winds of up to 180 kmph, and can also hit Taiwan before reaching Taiwan. There are chances that the typhoon can bring record breaking rainfall in China and Taiwan.
Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities. The central government is disbursing 44 million yuan ($6.1 million) for disaster relief in affected provinces.
Generally, Beijing has usually dry summers, but it had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year. Now the city is facing record-breaking rain since past one week.
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Updated: 02 Aug 2023, 03:16 PM IST
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