Unheard of in 140 years: the Chinese capital Beijing, victim of deadly floods, has seen the heaviest rainfall since the beginning of the records in recent days, with relief operations accelerating on Wednesday.
Millions of people have been hit in recent weeks around the world by extreme weather events and heat waves. Events which, according to scientists, are exacerbated by climate change.
Torrential rains, which significantly weakened on Wednesday, had begun to fall on the greater Beijing region on Saturday. In just 40 hours, the city has seen the equivalent of an entire month of July fall.
“The maximum value” of precipitation recorded during this rainy episode at a station in the capital was 744.8 millimeters and it is the “heaviest rainfall for 140 years”, said the municipal meteorological service.
The torrential rains have so far left at least 11 dead and 13 missing in Beijing, including a firefighter, according to public television CCTV.
The area most affected by the floods on Wednesday seemed to be the province of Hebei (north), neighboring the Chinese capital.
The situation is particularly critical in Zhuozhou, large parts of which are submerged under the waves.
Spectacular aerial photos of the city, taken by AFP, show shopping streets transformed into brown water rivers. Others show completely submerged farmland for miles around.
A 34-year-old printing factory worker, Mr. Liu, said water began to flow Monday afternoon in the Zhuozhou Industrial Zone.
“We first tried to contain the water. But it was impossible,” he told AFP.
“We couldn’t get any equipment or materials out of our factory to get them to safety. We were stuck inside until noon today and then we were rescued.”
The floods cut off water and electricity supplies in several neighborhoods, according to Chinese media.
AFP saw rescuers using boats to deliver instant noodles, bread and drinking water to residents who were unable or unwilling to leave their homes surrounded by water.
In Hebei, bad weather left at least nine dead and six missing, according to CCTV.
In the Beijing district of Fangshan, just before the border with Hebei, AFP journalists saw a completely flooded park. Tons of rubbish, washed away by the waves, were stuck near a bridge.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in over 40 years,” said 71-year-old resident Ms. Li, who declined to give her full name.
Typhoon Doksuri, downgraded to a storm, swept across China from Friday after hitting neighboring Philippines. Last week, state media estimated that about 130 million people would be affected by the downpours.
In many places, the floods have caused the collapse of bridges or cut communication routes.
According to a Chinese media count, around 127,000 people have already been evacuated in Beijing (which has a population of 22 million) and 847,400 in Hebei.
The capital, however, lifted the red alert for floods on Wednesday, “the flow of the main rivers having fallen below the alert threshold”, according to the official news agency New China.
In recent months, China has been hit hard by record heat waves or deadly rains.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based NGO, said while the typhoon caused the current rains, rising ocean temperatures due to climate change are also at stake. origin of these meteorological phenomena.
“China has been experiencing unprecedented extreme heat waves since last year,” he said.
“These heat waves are linked to global warming. That’s what most climatologists agree.”
With the end of the rains, the focus is now on relief.
Hundreds of Chinese Red Cross rescuers have been dispatched to affected areas to clear debris and help evacuate residents, according to New China.
President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday to “do everything” to rescue those missing or trapped after bad weather.
China is on alert for the arrival of a new typhoon, Khanun, which is approaching the eastern coasts of the country.
02/08/2023 13:11:55 – Zhuozhou (Chine) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
