In late July 2025, heavy rainfall in several areas of North China triggered rare floods, while authorities simultaneously released water from hundreds of reservoirs, exacerbating the downstream situation. In Hebei’s Chengde, a farm owner from a leisure estate expressed his devastation, stating that “this is not solely a natural disaster.” The villagers collectively approached the local authorities to report the disaster, urging the higher-ups to provide a clear explanation to the affected residents.
Mr. Tian, a leisure estate owner in Shuanglu District, Chengde City, Hebei Province, recounted during an interview with Dajiyuan that on the morning of July 26, he received a call from the village informing him of the water release from upstream. He recalled that a similar incident occurred last year, causing only a minor increase in water levels in the courtyard and fish pond, with no significant impact. Therefore, he did not anticipate the severity of the consequences this time.
He evacuated in the morning and upon returning at noon, he found his estate submerged. He described the scene as the entire estate being submerged in water when he glanced from a distance on the highway around five or six in the evening. Hundreds of households in the village also had to urgently evacuate.
According to Mr. Tian, at the peak of the flood, the water almost reached the roofs of the three-meter-high buildings, and it took three days for the water to completely recede. His estate, which integrated farming, fish ponds, homestays, and a restaurant, had been running for many years with investments totaling around 15 million yuan. Just after completing a million-yuan renovation this year, it was destroyed by the flood before officially opening for business.
Mr. Tian mentioned that all the livestock such as pigs, chickens, geese, and pigeons were washed away, the fish in the pond were lost, the pens and facilities were destroyed, and most of the houses collapsed. He expressed his helplessness, saying, “I have been relying on this estate for a living all these years, and now even the means to sustain myself are gone.” Not only did he lose everything, but he also had to bear the burden of debt.
Regarding the flooding, according to a briefing by the Beijing Municipal Government, extreme heavy rainfall had persisted from July 23 to the peak on the 29th, lasting a total of 147 hours with an average rainfall of 210.4 millimeters over seven days, especially concentrated in the northern mountainous areas. Some stations in Miyun accumulated up to 543.4 millimeters of rainfall, with the peak hourly rainfall reaching 95.3 millimeters in Huairou Dongyu, setting rare historical records.
The continual heavy rainfall led to more than 10 rivers in the Hai River Basin surpassing the alert levels, with a total of 107 large and medium-sized reservoirs participating in flood control operations in the basin, involving Beijing, Hebei, and Tianjin, marking the largest operation in the history of the People’s Republic of China. Consequently, the situation worsened in some downstream areas.
Among these, Beijing’s largest reservoir, the Miyun Reservoir, faced an unprecedented flood peak since its completion in 1959, with the maximum inflow rate reaching 6,550 cubic meters per second, far exceeding the 1994 record of 3,670 cubic meters per second. The reservoir commenced emergency flood discharge from 3 p.m. on July 27, with a maximum discharge rate of 1,120 cubic meters per second. As of 6 a.m. on the 29th, the accumulated discharged water exceeded 120 million cubic meters and continued to flood.
Simultaneously, emergency flood releases were initiated in the Pinggu Wu reservoir, Huairou San reservoir in Beijing, and over ten other reservoirs such as Baihebao, Zhaitang, Zhuwo, and sandbag barriers like Sanjiadian in the area.
Furthermore, the Panjiakou and Daheitin reservoirs in Hebei’s Luanhe River system entered the controlled discharge phase on the 27th and 28th. The Yangzhuang reservoir in Jizhou, Tianjin, conducted its largest flood discharge operation since its establishment, leading to temporary closures of some roads.
A comprehensive report by Reuters on July 31 revealed that the death toll from the disasters in North China had reached at least 60, with 31 elderly residents tragically losing their lives at the Taishitun Elderly Care Center in Miyun, Beijing.
The public raised concerns about the authorities’ misjudgment of the situation and flawed decision-making processes. Mr. Wang shared that he had contacted the reservoir management unit, questioning why water was not released early before the rainy season rather than waiting until heavy rains had started. They were assured that the flood release was “within manageable limits,” but the outcome led to the near-complete destruction of the estate and the village.
“This flood is almost unprecedented in the past five or six decades; we have never experienced such severe consequences even during significant flooding events. But due to the simultaneous releases from numerous reservoirs, the entire floodwaters rushed into our area,” Mr. Wang stated. Last year, flood releases had filled the fishpond, but this year, the estate was left with only a few standing buildings. Currently, even after the water receded inside the estate, it continued to seep out, with mud accumulating over one meter deep, making the cleanup efforts seemingly endless. Three days later, after the water receded, every household was left with over a meter of thick mud accumulation inside.
Mr. Tian believed that this disaster was not solely caused by the heavy rain but also due to the simultaneous flood releases from multiple upstream reservoirs. He stated, “If it weren’t for the flood releases, we can say that such a situation would not have occurred. If it was just heavy rain causing a flood without the dam releases, we would not have encountered this scenario.”
Following the events, over a hundred villagers collectively visited the district office to report the disaster, only to be told that this was a natural disaster. They were asked to assess the damages first before waiting for higher-level policies. Later, when they visited the city’s petition office, only a district committee member was sent to respond, repeating the instructions to focus on relief efforts and await policy decisions.
“Yesterday in our village, over a hundred residents went to the district office. The leaders claimed it was a natural disaster. Later, they visited the city’s petition office, but the leaders did not show up. They only sent a district committee member who instructed the villagers to assess their household damages and then left with just that comment,” Mr. Tian revealed.
Mr. Tian also sought answers from the mayor and the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Bureau director, but they could only promise “some compensation” without providing further details. He was concerned about the government’s inadequate financial resources and the difficulties in compensating for the actual losses. He found it unacceptable to merely categorize the incident as a “natural disaster” and hoped that the public reporting of the events would draw higher-level attention, stating, “Give us disaster victims a clear explanation and treatment plan, let the villagers have a way forward, and rebuild their lives.”
“I am currently feeling particularly lost, not knowing how to help myself,” he said. The uncertainties abound, and the thought of facing another flood with discharge operations happening again is worrisome to him. “How can the common people survive in such circumstances?”