Beijing issues geological disaster warning after intense rainfall
Kyiv • UNN
The Beijing Meteorological Agency has issued a warning for landslides and mudslides for 10 districts of the city after heavy rains. Over 46,000 people have been affected, 4,655 evacuated, and 13 rivers have exceeded flood warning levels.
On Saturday, Beijing issued a geological disaster warning, including landslides and mudslides, after intense rains the day before, and storms circulating in northern China caused rains in neighboring Baoding for the second time this year, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
The Beijing Meteorological Agency's warning for 10 of the city's 16 districts came after local authorities also warned of flash floods in mountainous areas.
According to CCTV, the rain had a devastating force, affecting more than 46,000 people and forcing 4,655 of them to evacuate.
Let's add
Northern China has experienced record rainfall in recent years, putting densely populated cities, including Beijing, at risk of flooding. Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China's normally arid north to global warming.
China's Ministry of Water Resources issued targeted warnings to 11 provinces and regions, including Beijing and Hebei, about floods originating from small and medium-sized rivers and streams flowing from the mountains.
The warning also aimed to ensure the safety of reservoirs and silt dams during floods.
Across the country, heavy rains caused 13 rivers, scattered across seven provinces, to exceed flood warning levels by as much as 1.4 m (4.6 ft), CCTV reported, citing ministry findings released Saturday morning.
Among them, one tributary of the Dahei River in Inner Mongolia and another of the Yanhe River in Shaanxi recorded the largest floods since records began.
These storms are part of a broader pattern of extreme weather events in China, driven by the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world's second-largest economy.
In a separate bulletin, CCTV also reported that two small reservoirs in the northeastern Jilin province are operating above the flood zone limit as rivers continue to overflow. Local authorities have begun activating five large reservoirs to help with flood discharge.
Chinese authorities are closely monitoring extreme rainfall and severe flooding as they challenge the country's aging flood control systems, threaten to displace millions of people, and damage the $2.8 trillion agricultural sector.