Beijing: Extreme weather has resulted in the deaths of at least 30 individuals in Beijing after the city experienced a year's worth of rainfall within just a few days, challenging the capital's disaster management systems and leading some experts to label the city a "rain trap."
According to Bahrain News Agency, the majority of the rainfall inundated Beijing's mountainous northern region near the Great Wall, with 28 fatalities reported in the district of Miyun and two in Yanqing, as stated by the official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday. The heavy rain, which began last Wednesday, escalated on Monday, impacting Beijing and the surrounding provinces. The capital witnessed rainfall amounts reaching up to 543.4 mm (21.4 inches) in its northern districts, while the city's average annual rainfall is approximately 600 mm.
Xuebin Zhang of the University of Victoria in Canada and CEO of the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), noted that the cumulative precipitation reached 80-90% of the annual total in some areas within just a few days. Zhang explained that very few systems are designed to handle such intense rainfall in a short period. The local topography, featuring mountains to the west and north, trapped moist air and intensified the extraordinary precipitation levels.
China's typically arid northern regions have experienced record precipitation in recent years, with some scientists attributing this trend to global warming. In the summer of 2023, heavy rains and flooding claimed at least 33 lives in Beijing. The city of Xingtai in neighboring Hebei province saw rainfall exceeding 1,000 mm in just two days, double its yearly average.
Late Monday, President Xi Jinping acknowledged the "heavy casualties and property losses" in Beijing and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin, and Shandong, and ordered comprehensive search and rescue operations. More than 80,000 Beijing residents were relocated, as reported by Xinhua, with roads and communication infrastructure sustaining damage and power being cut off to 136 villages overnight.
The most intense rainfall occurred on Saturday in Beijing's hilly Huairou, recording 95.3 mm of rain in a single hour. In Miyun on Monday, rising water levels trapped individuals at an elderly care center. Emergency services swam into the building and used ropes to rescue 48 people.
On Tuesday, several public amenities, including parks, libraries, and museums like the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City, were closed. Train and bus services in the suburbs and along waterways were halted. Additionally, hundreds of flights were either canceled or delayed at Beijing's two airports, as reported by state media.