Two people were killed Monday in Beijing following torrential rains that have battered the region since Friday, state media reported.
Rescue services found two bodies in waterways in Beijing’s Mentougou district, according to the People’s Daily newspaper.
Authorities on Monday placed the Chinese capital on high flood alert.
Much of Beijing’s suburbs “are at high risk for cave-ins, landslides and mudslides”, according to the alert from authorities, who also issued a red alert for flooding.
These heavy rains are a consequence of Cyclone Doksuri, which killed at least six people in the Philippines. It has lost some strength and the tropical storm has been sweeping across northern China since Friday.
According to the capital’s weather service, 170.9 millimeters of water fell on Beijing in 40 hours between Saturday evening and Monday noon. That’s almost the average rainfall for a whole month of July.
Beijing has been very cautious about heavy rainfall since 2021, when severe flooding in the center of the country killed more than 300 people, mostly in the major city of Zhengzhou.
07/31/2023 10:37:25 – Beijing (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
