Torrential rains in China: death toll rises to at least 62

2023-08-09 09:32:24

August 09, 2023
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August 09, 2023
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The torrential rains that hit Beijing and the neighboring province have left 33 dead and 18 missing, while the floods submerge roads and cut communication routes.

Thirty-three people have died and 18 are missing following the heaviest rains on record in Beijing, authorities said on Wednesday. Dozens of people also died in the floods that hit northern China. Across the country, no less than 62 people lost their lives in these bad weather.

This morning state television reported that flooding in the southwest has caused at least seven dead in the mountainous region of Sichuan. Images broadcast by the CCTV channel show people, swept away by a torrent, struggling to keep their heads above water. On Friday, Beijing said natural disasters left 147 dead or missing in July.

The Chinese capital has been hit by record rains in recent weeks. These heavy rains are a consequence of the Cyclone Doksuri, which killed at least six people in the Philippines. The official toll in China has almost tripled since last Tuesday.

“I would like to express my deep condolences to those who died in the line of duty and to the unfortunate victims,” ​​Xia Linmao, vice mayor of Beijing, said at a press conference, broadcast by state broadcaster CCTV. .

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A view of structures damaged following heavy rains and flooding in a village in Mentougou district, west of Beijing, on August 4.
©EPA

Historic rainfall

In the neighboring province of Hebei, 15 people died and 22 are missing. In the northeast of the country, Jilin14 people died and another was missing on Sunday.

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A resident observes the remains of his farm following the rains and floods caused by Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province.
©REUTERS

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A man holding a child crosses a damaged bridge following rains and flooding caused by the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou.
©REUTERS

“I’m still scared when I remember the recent floods,” Zheng Xiaokang, a police officer from Jiangxi village (southeast), told the government news agency China News.

The Chinese capital experienced its highest rainfall in at least 140 years, when the surveys began. “The maximum value” of rainfall recorded at a station in the city was 744.8 millimeters and it is the “heaviest rainfall in 140 years”, according to the Beijing Meteorological Service.

The precise surveys began in 1883. “The previous record (…) before the current rainy episode” had been established in 1891 with 609 millimeters, he underlined.

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In Beijing, the inhabitants found themselves with their feet in the water. More than 31,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.
©AFP

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In some areas of Beijing, such as the Mentougou district, the streets were totally flooded at the height of the rainfall.
©via REUTERS

China is experiencing extreme weather and record high temperatures this summer, events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change.

The country has been very cautious regarding 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.

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Many photos show damaged cars along the roads.
©AFP

In Beijing, more than 31,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes, work on more than 4,000 sites was halted and nearly 20,000 buildings were inspected for damage.

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Industrial machines carry out waterway restoration work in Shijiaying Town, Fangshan District in Beijing.
©EPA

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