Washed over: Damaged buildings seen after heavy rains at Xin’anzhuang village, in Miyun district, on the outskirts of Beijing. — AFP
Heavy rains that have soaked swathes of the north killed four people and left eight missing, state media said, as downpours force thousands to evacuate across the capital city and surrounding areas.
Authorities in Beijing have issued the country’s second-highest warning for rainstorms and the highest for floods, with the downpours expected to last into this morning.
In Hebei province, which encircles the capital, the heavy rains caused a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde, state broadcaster CCTV said yesterday.
Four were killed and eight are still missing, it said, with the national emergency management department dispatching a team to inspect the “severe” flooding in the province, where a further two died over the weekend.
Over 4,600 people were evacuated over the weekend in Fuping county, while in neighbouring Shanxi province, one person was rescued and 13 were missing after a bus accident, according to state media.
Footage from the broadcaster showed roads in the province and a crop field submerged in rushing water on Sunday.
In Beijing, over 4,000 people in suburban Miyun district were evacuated due to torrential rains.
The area’s reservoir “recorded its largest inflow flood” since it was built more than six decades ago, state media reported. — AFP
