2023-08-01 06:44:39
The level of rainfall is highly unusual for this time in Beijing. (PHOTO: AP/Ng Han Guan)
Eleven people have died and 27 are missing due to flooding in the mountains surrounding the Chinese capital Beijing, Chinese state media reported.
After days of heavy rain, authorities closed railway stations and evacuated people in vulnerable communities to school gyms, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday. The water has inundated houses, destroyed roads and washed away cars, which were left in piles.
The level of rainfall is highly unusual for Beijing, which normally has a moderate and dry climate. Flooding in other parts of northern China that rarely receive such large amounts of rain caused many deaths.
Strong storms in Asia killed 11 people in China and extensive damage in Japan. (PHOTO: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Seasonal floods affect large parts of China each summer, especially in the semitropical south. But this year, some northern regions reported their worst flooding in 50 years.
In early July, at least 15 people died from flooding in the southwestern region of Chongqing, and around 5,590 residents in northwestern Liaoning province had to be evacuated. In Hubei, in the center of the country, storms trapped residents in their cars and homes.
After days of heavy rain, authorities closed railway stations and evacuated people in vulnerable communities. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Thomas Peter)
The deadliest and most destructive floods in the country’s recent history occurred in 1998, killing 4,150 people, mostly on the banks of the Yangtze. In 2021, more than 300 people died from flooding in the central province of Henan.
A strong electrical storm on Tuesday left more than 10,000 homes without electricity in and around Tokyo, also causing the temporary suspension of takeoffs at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
A strong storm leaves 10,000 houses without power in and around Tokyo and delayed flights. (PHOTO: National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies/AP)
The meteorological phenomenon left heavy rainfall starting at 12:00 local time (3:00 GMT) on Tuesday in various areas of Kanto, in central Japan, which led the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to declare an alert for the risk of floods and river surges in various areas of the capital and surrounding regions.
Districts in the north and west of Tokyo have accumulated more than 50 millimeters of water in just one hour, and the Meguro River, which flows through the Japanese capital, has exceeded the flood danger level, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The electric company Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) reported for its part the interruption of the electricity supply to 1,200 homes in Tokyo and another 1,200 and 7,210 respectively in the neighboring Ibaraki (north of the capital) and Chiba (east).
In early July, at least 15 people were killed by flooding in China’s southwestern region. (PHOTO: AP/Andy Wong)
In addition to the storm that affects central Japan and is causing disruptions to air transport from the capital, southwestern Japan is under weather alert on Tuesday due to the approach of very strong category Typhoon Khanun, according to the JMA.
The Japanese authorities have begun issuing evacuation orders in some towns in the southern Okinawa archipelago before the approach of the typhoon in the next few hours on Tuesday, which has also caused the suspension of domestic flights in this area of southwestern Japan.
(With information from AP and EFE)
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