Recently in the past two days, Beijing and Hebei Province have been hit by heavy rainstorms. Parts of Beijing have been inundated, with streets turning into rivers in Zouzhou, Hebei Province, and many vehicles submerged in water. Two years ago, Zouzhou experienced a city-wide flood due to flooding from Beijing, which led to criticism at the time that the Beijing authorities were sacrificing Zouzhou to protect the Xiong’an New Area.
On the morning of the 25th, Beijing netizens posted videos on social media claiming that they woke up early to find the streets flooded. The videos show many cars submerged in water, pedestrians wading through waist-deep water.
Some netizens posted videos of heavy rain in Tongzhou, while others warned, “Yizhuang New City, Maqiao Bridge endured heavy rain all night, the Liangshui River water rose rapidly, those out for leisure activities must pay attention to safety.”
Many streets in Beijing’s Tongzhou District were flooded, making it difficult for residents to navigate the streets in their vehicles.
The Beijing Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow alert for heavy rain on July 24th, forecasting that from 5 p.m. on the 24th to 5 a.m. on the 25th, hourly rainfall in most areas of Beijing is expected to exceed 30 millimeters, with some areas in Fangshan, Mentougou, Shijingshan, Haidian, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu, Daxing, Tongzhou, among others, experiencing hourly rainfalls exceeding 50 millimeters and accumulations over 70 millimeters in six hours, leading to the possibility of flash floods, debris flows, landslides in mountainous and foothill areas.
The warning indicates that for the next three days, Beijing will continue to experience a “rainfall mode” with the intensity of rain likely to increase, especially along mountains and southeastern regions being susceptible to disasters.
Zouzhou in Hebei Province was also flooded, with videos showing streets inundated on July 25th, with waters reaching over a meter deep submerging many vehicles.
One netizen expressed, “In the heavy rain in Zouzhou, the roads have turned into seas, and a large number of vehicles are submerged. It’s better not to come to Hebei this weekend.”
Another netizen shared a video saying, “The Yihexian, Hebei, Yihezhuang Bridge collapsed again, look at how wide our Yishui River is, the Yihexian Bridge is almost submerged.”
“Jiemian News” reported that multiple counties and cities in the central and northern parts of Hebei Province experienced heavy rainstorms, with Yixian County in Baoding City recording the highest precipitation of 456.4 millimeters, and Zouzhou City witnessing urban flooding again.
A netizen expressed, “It’s over, Zouzhou is about to be flooded again.”
In late July 2023, Beijing was hit by a typhoon and heavy rain, resulting in flash floods and debris flows in areas like Fangshan and Mentougou, causing significant casualties and property damage. Due to Beijing’s flood discharge measures, Zouzhou in Hebei was suddenly flooded, catching residents off guard, leading to the entire city being submerged in waters reaching up to 4 to 5 meters deep.
Reuters reported at the time that over one-sixth of Zouzhou’s 600,000 residents were evacuated. However, some remaining residents noted a lack of urgency from local officials, who failed to issue timely evacuation notices, causing delays in response. Many residents believed that the July 31st flood discharge by the government to protect Beijing and Xiong’an worsened the situation, turning Zouzhou and other areas into direct sacrifices.
Prior to this, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying of the CCP mentioned “ensuring absolute flood safety for the capital Beijing and Daxing Airport” and “ensuring absolute flood safety for the Xiong’an New Area.” Hebei Provincial Party Secretary Ni Yuefeng also emphasized reducing flood pressure on Beijing and being a “moat” to protect the capital. These official statements sparked public anger.
Renowned water expert Wang Weiluo remarked to The Epoch Times that the flooding in Hebei was entirely man-made, influenced by human manipulation that caused the disasters. He pointed out, “The biggest problem in the entire Hai River basin is that it’s an artificial river system, directing water south when needed and east when needed, that’s the design. The CCP’s approach to water management is making water obey orders, flooding wherever they command.”