BEIJING: Authorities in Beijing have evacuated over 70,000 residents and placed all 16 districts under the highest level of alert as the Chinese capital braces for another spell of heavy rain just a week after experiencing its deadliest floods in more than a decade.
Between July 23 and 29, torrential rains claimed at least 44 lives in the capital, many of them residents of a nursing home in Miyun District, where floodwaters overwhelmed emergency systems.
The disaster has led officials to acknowledge serious gaps in preparedness for extreme weather events.
Weather authorities have warned that up to 200 millimetres of rain could fall within just six hours in some areas, prompting widespread closures of outdoor attractions, including parts of the Great Wall.
Operations at underground businesses have also been suspended, and residents have been urged to stay vigilant as the risk of flash floods and landslides remains dangerously high.
Nearly 14,000 residents have been evacuated from Mentougou, a mountainous district in western Beijing, as part of a broader emergency response, according to state broadcaster CCTV. This marks the first citywide state of readiness declared since July 28.
Beijing’s geography—ringed by mountains to the west and north—acts as a natural rain trap, often intensifying rainfall and complicating drainage efforts.
In 2012, record flooding claimed 79 lives, most of them in the Fangshan District of Beijing.
The current downpours have also caused fatalities beyond the capital. In Chengde, Hebei province, three people died and four remain missing after flash floods struck “Beijing Valley,” a riverside wellness retreat.
Around 40 people had gathered there on July 27 for a wellness event, with tents pitched on low-lying ground near a river bend—an area particularly vulnerable to sudden flooding.
In southern China’s Guangdong province, five bodies were recovered over the weekend following a large-scale rescue effort involving more than 1,300 personnel.
The victims had gone missing after being swept away during Friday night’s storms, according to Xinhua.
With the summer monsoon season still underway and more rain in the forecast, Chinese authorities are ramping up efforts to reinforce aging flood defenses, enhance weather forecasting, and update evacuation protocols.
The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events are placing mounting pressure on city infrastructure and emergency response systems across the country.
