As heavy rainfall stretched into a fourth day in Beijing and nearby cities in China on Tuesday, 11 people have been reported dead while 27 are missing, as per Beijing Daily. Rivers have swollen to dangerous levels. Beijing has been forced to use a flood storage reservoir for the first time since it was built 25 years ago.
The capital had sealed off over 100 mountain roads and evacuated over 250,000 people from their homes, as of last night.. Two of the 11 people who have died so far, reportedly died during rescue and relief operations.
China floods and Doksuri
This comes as China faced one of its strongest storms in years. Doksuri weakened as it rolled inland, however, authorities have warned that risks of further floods and other disaster continue to remain.
The forecast for Beijing on Tuesday also showed localized thunderstorms and strong winds. The same was shown in the case of neighbouring city Tianjin and Hebei province, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The rain has led to water and power outages and a difficulty in getting food has disrupted the lives of the citizens, local media reports and social media reports said. The Fangshan district of the capital will use helicopters to drop off food, drinking water and emergency supplies to villages in mountainous areas.
Food delivery giant Meituan has added staff and extended delivery times as orders for vegetables, meat and eggs rose 50% and overall shopping on its app increased 20%, media reported.
Several subway lines in the capital, including trains in western suburbs, were suspended on Tuesday. Beijing’s Mentougou district in the west saw dramatic damage a day before, after torrential rains turned roads into rivers, sweeping cars away.
Around 400 flights were cancelled on Tuesday while hundreds were delayed at Beijing’s two airports, as per the data of tracker app Flight Master.
Beijing recorded an average of 260 mm (10.2 inches) of rainfall from Saturday to early Monday, with the Changping Wangjiayuan Reservoir logging the largest reading at 738.3mm (29 inches).
The city government said the rainfall over the past few days has broken records from a severe storm 11 years ago.
(With Reuters inputs)