On Monday, torrential rains that hit northern China killed four people and left eight missing, forcing thousands to evacuate from the capital and surrounding areas, according to state media reports, writes UNN with reference to AFP.
Details
Beijing authorities issued the second-highest level of rain warning in the country and the strongest for floods. The rains are expected to continue until Tuesday morning.
In Hebei province, which surrounds the capital, the rains caused a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Four people died, and eight people are considered missing. The National Emergency Management Agency sent a team to survey the aftermath of the "severe" flood in the province, where two more died last weekend.
Over 4,600 people were evacuated in Fuping County over the weekend, and in neighboring Shanxi Province, one person was rescued and 13 went missing after a bus accident, according to state media.
On Sunday, footage broadcast by the TV channel showed the province's roads and an agricultural field flooded with water.
In Beijing, more than 4,000 people in the suburban Miyun district were evacuated due to heavy rains.
"I've never seen so much water before," Cui Xueji, 67, a lifelong resident of Taishitun village in the area, told AFP.
"We prepared, but we had no idea there would be so much," he said.
Nearby in Mujiaja village, AFP journalists saw the local reservoir release a torrent of water.
Power lines were washed away by mudslides, and military vehicles and ambulances made their way through flooded streets.
The river overflowed, sweeping away trees, and fields were flooded with water.
Some roads were severely damaged: pieces of concrete were scattered along the roadside, and bent fences lay on the shoulders.
Small houses in the mountainous area, though mostly intact, were flooded by powerful water currents.
Addition
Natural disasters are common in China, especially in summer, when some regions experience heavy rains and others experience heat.
China is the world's largest source of greenhouse gases, which scientists believe contribute to climate change and make extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
But it is also a global hub for renewable energy, aiming to make its vast economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
Flash floods in Shandong province in eastern China this month killed two people and left 10 missing.
A landslide on a highway in Sichuan province this month also killed five people after sweeping several cars down a mountainside.