China's capital Beijing turned chaotic on Friday as relentless rain battered the city for hours, forcing local authorities to move tens of thousands of residents out of harm's way while a fresh super typhoon barrels toward the country's eastern coast.
Hours of heavy rain soak Beijing
According to the Beijing Municipal Flood Control Office, heavy rain lashed the entire city from 8 am to 5 pm on Friday. The worst of it hit a market in the outlying Pinggu district, where 164 millimetres of rain was recorded, the highest tally anywhere in the city that day.
More than 95,000 people moved to safety
By 5 pm Friday, authorities had relocated 95,657 people from 36,279 families to safer locations across Beijing. With more heavy rain expected, the administration had already stepped up flood prevention measures and continued shifting residents out as a precaution rather than waiting for water levels to rise further.
Reservoirs still below their limits, but more rain on the way
Data cited by Xinhua showed that all of the city's large and medium sized reservoirs remain below their designated maximum water levels for now. Even so, the weather department has forecast very heavy rain across many parts of Beijing through Friday evening and night, with torrential downpours likely in some pockets. Rain ranging from light to very heavy is expected to continue into Saturday. Officials have urged residents to avoid stepping out unless absolutely necessary and to keep track of weather warnings and emergency alerts as the situation develops.
Two typhoons push China to tighten flood defences
The Ministry of Water Resources said on Tuesday that China had strengthened its flood control and emergency relief arrangements nationwide, after typhoons Maysak and Bawi raised the risk of heavy rain and flooding across several of the country's river regions.
This year's 10th typhoon, Maysak, had already triggered intense rainfall in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China in recent days, causing severe flooding in several parts of the Pearl River basin. The ministry warned that continuous rain and rising water levels could still pose further danger in the area.
Red alerts declared in Guangxi and Guangdong
On Tuesday, Guangxi issued the highest level red alert over the flood threat. Soon after, the neighbouring province of Guangdong followed with its own red alert for flooding.
Super Typhoon Bawi could hit six major river regions
Super Typhoon Bawi is expected to move toward China's eastern coast starting Friday and could affect six major river regions across the country for close to a week, raising the risk of flooding and related disasters in its path.
Authorities told to reinforce defences and step up monitoring
The Ministry of Water Resources has directed the relevant departments to reinforce flood prevention arrangements in Guangxi, strengthen monitoring and early warning systems, ensure the safety of reservoirs, keep a close watch on flash floods in hilly terrain and the swelling of both large and small rivers, and carry out regular inspections of embankments and water projects.
