Photo: Li Hao/GT

Beijing issued a red flood alert around Monday noon, forecasting floods in Dashihe River in Fangshan district and reminding residents to stay away from rivers following impact from the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri. 

Landslides and minor flash floods have happened in suburban Mentougou and Fangshan districts in Beijing as of Monday noon with multiple roads across the city suffering from waterlogging due to the impact of the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri. 

On Monday morning, about 80 employees from a distribution station of a logistics company in Zhoukoudian town in Fangshan were stranded by the floods caused by the storm. The emergency rescue of these people is underway. 

Beijing was functioning normally Monday morning despite rainstorms gripping the Chinese capital from Saturday night due to the impact of the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri. No casualties or vehicle damage had been reported as of Monday morning.

It is expected that the storm will ease in some parts of the city with the local meteorological authority likely downgrading its storm alert to orange from the highest red in some parts of the city. The city’s flood control authority reminded local residents to stay indoors and called for companies and public institutions to adopt flexible working arrangements. 

The general hydrographic station in Beijing issued a red alert for flooding on Monday morning forecasting flooding along the Dashihe River in Fangshan district between Monday noon and 2 pm, reminding local residents to stay away from the rivers. 

According to the city’s flood control headquarters, a total of 28 flood control emergencies have been issued since Saturday night, including 23 instances of waterlogging, four geological disasters and one flash flood in Beixiasi village in Fangshan. A total of 84 people from 62 households in Fangshan were relocated with no casualties being reported. 

As of Sunday evening, a total of 30,652 residents at risk had been relocated, while 4,069 construction projects had been suspended, 243 scenic spots and 6,280 guesthouses had been closed. Meanwhile, 4,350 flood control teams involving a combined 150,000 personnel remain on standby. 

According to the Beijing Meteorological Service, citywide average rainfalls in Beijing from 8 pm on Saturday till 9 am on Monday amounted to 149.6 millimeters. Urban areas in Beijing saw the average rainfall of 159.2 millimeters while the outlying Fangshan district suffered from an average rainfall of 326 millimeters which was followed by 287.3 millimeters in suburban Mentougou district. 

A tour group of 45 seniors from Beijing who traveled to Baoding city in neighboring Hebei Province were trapped on their way back to Beijing in Fangshan on Sunday due to the closure of the roads due to heavy rains and flooding. Local authorities responded by coordinating different departments and arranged the accommodation for the elderly. 

A section of road of about 24 square meters outside the newly opened Joy City shopping mall in Shijingshan district in Beijing collapsed on Saturday evening, causing no casualties. The designer, construction company and related experts inspected on the collapsed area and decided that it had no safety impact on the building. Repair work of the road is ongoing. 

As of 8:30 am on Monday, a total of 227 bus lines have been affected with 182 bus lines suspending operation. 

According to the rainfall statistics released by the Beijing meteorological authority, from January 1 to 8 am on July 31 this year, the citywide cumulative precipitation amounted to 362.6 millimeters, which was 10 percent above the usual amount of 328.9 millimeters in the same period of the past years. 

Since the beginning of the flood season on June 1, the city's accumulated precipitation has already reached 306.8 millimeters, 21 percent higher than the yearly average for July of 253.5 millimeters. 

On Monday morning, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) maintained its red alert for rainfall, forecasting heavy rains in the majority part of Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and the eastern part of North China’s Shanxi Province. 

China’s Ministry of Water Resources issued a notice on Monday morning about the flooding in the waters of Haihe River and maintained a Level-II emergency response against flooding in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. At the moment, 10 work groups from the ministry are directing flood control work in the areas affected. 

A railway bridge in Shijiazhuang, North China’s Hebei Province collapsed on Sunday due to the impact of flooding. 

Flood control authorities in Baoding, Hebei launched a Level-I emergency response on Sunday and ordered all personnel to work from home on Monday and refrain from any non-essential outdoor activities. 

Weather forecasts suggested that rainstorms will continue to hit Baoding until 8 am on Tuesday with cumulative rainfall reaching more than 400 millimeters in some places. 

Global Times