China’s Beijing Drowns: Over 30 Dead, Thousands Flee

Severe rainfall and flooding have claimed the lives of more than 30 people in Beijing and the surrounding Hebei province, according to Chinese state media, as rescue efforts intensify and evacuations continue across the region.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that, by midnight Monday, 28 fatalities had occurred in Beijing’s Miyun district.

Beijing’s Miyun district is a mountainous area on the city’s northeastern edge.

Two more deaths were confirmed in the Yanqing district.

Both districts lie on the outskirts of China’s sprawling capital, far from its urban core.

In neighbouring Hebei province, four people were killed in a landslide on Monday, with at least eight others reported missing.

The disaster comes as relentless rainfall that began over the weekend escalated across northern China, inundating communities and overwhelming infrastructure.

Beijing’s northern districts recorded rainfall of up to 543.4mm, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The deluge forced authorities to evacuate over 80,000 residents from flood-prone zones, particularly in low-lying and mountainous regions.

As of late Monday, 136 villages were without electricity, and significant damage to roads and communications infrastructure was reported.

President Xi Jinping called for “all-out” rescue and recovery efforts to prevent further loss of life.

Premier Li Qiang echoed the concern, acknowledging what state media described as “significant casualties” in Miyun district.

The capital raised its flood and rain alerts to the highest level on Monday, urging residents to remain indoors and avoid travel.

Public schools were shut down, construction projects were halted, and all outdoor activities, including tourism, were suspended as emergency protocols were activated.

One of the most concerning developments involved the Miyun reservoir, which saw its highest water level since its construction in 1959.

Authorities began releasing water from the dam in a bid to prevent overflow, warning those downstream to stay clear of riverbanks as more rainfall was expected.

By Tuesday morning, the reservoir had absorbed more than 730 million cubic meters of water, making it a critical point of concern in northern China’s water management system.

The floods brought widespread destruction in Miyun and surrounding areas. Cars were swept away, power lines were downed, and mudslides damaged buildings and roads.

In the town of Taishitun, approximately 100 kilometers northeast of Beijing’s city center, uprooted trees littered the streets, their roots stripped bare.

Water and mud covered roads and rose high on the walls of local homes and businesses.

“The flood came rushing in, so fast, so suddenly,” said Zhuang Zhelin, a local resident helping his family clear mud from their construction supply store.

“In no time, everything was submerged.”

Officials continued to warn of further heavy rain into Tuesday, with some regions expected to receive as much as 30 centimeters of additional precipitation.

This latest disaster has drawn comparisons to the deadly 2023 floods that swept through the capital and nearby regions, killing dozens and displacing over a million people.

At the time, Beijing faced harsh criticism for diverting floodwaters away from the capital and into Hebei, effectively turning the surrounding province into a buffer zone.

Critics dubbed the strategy a “moat” around the capital, accusing authorities of sacrificing rural areas to protect urban infrastructure.

In response to the current crisis, the central government has allocated 50 million yuan (approximately $7 million) in emergency funds to Hebei province.

It has also dispatched a high-level emergency response team to aid in search and rescue operations.

Experts warn that the intensifying cycle of extreme weather events is part of a broader pattern driven by human-induced climate change.

Scientific studies increasingly show that global heating is making floods, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires more severe and more frequent.

Analysts say many of the most catastrophic weather events of the past decade would have been virtually impossible without the influence of climate change.

As the situation continues to evolve, emergency services remain on high alert across Beijing and Hebei.

With forecasts predicting further rainfall, the focus now shifts to minimizing additional casualties and restoring essential services to the tens of thousands already affected by the disaster.

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