Heavy rains in Beijing trigger floods and lead to 44 deaths, while a total of 75 deaths have been reported in the entire North China region. Following the previous round of heavy rain, Beijing encountered a new round of heavy rainfall on August 4th, with the Beijing Meteorological Observatory upgrading the rainstorm red alert at 13:00 on August 4th. This marked the city’s second city-wide red alert for heavy rain since July 28th.
At 9:10 am on August 4th, the Beijing Meteorological Observatory issued an orange rainstorm warning, indicating that most areas of the city will experience torrential rain with hourly precipitation reaching 70 millimeters or more and 100 millimeters within six hours from noon to early morning on the following day (August 5th).
In specific regions such as Fangshan District, Mentougou District, and Shijingshan District, the six-hour rainfall may exceed 150 millimeters, with certain areas experiencing over 200 millimeters. The risk of disasters like flash floods, debris flows, landslides is extremely high in mountainous and foothill areas, with low-lying areas prone to waterlogging.
By 13:00 on August 4th, Beijing escalated the rainstorm warning to red. According to updates from the Beijing Emergency Management Office, the most intense rainfall is expected between 18:00 on August 4th and 5:00 in the morning on the 5th.
Besides the red rainstorm warning, Beijing is also under geological disaster meteorological risk orange alert, mountain flood disaster yellow alert, urban waterlogging yellow alert, and blue alert for flooding.
Simultaneously, the Beijing Flood Control Headquarters has initiated a level-one emergency response across the city, urging residents to refrain from unnecessary outdoor activities. Additionally, organized cultural and tourism events, indoor and outdoor sports events, as well as physical training activities have been suspended. Schools have halted all offline teaching and field trips, while training institutions have ceased offline training activities. Outdoor mountain and water-related tourism have been discontinued, and all scenic spots, parks, forests, guesthouses, etc., will be closed if necessary, with possible suspension of subway and bus operations.
Reports from the Beijing Daily state that due to the red rainstorm warning, Chaoyang Park has been temporarily closed. Additionally, netizens have mentioned receiving evacuation notices in places like Miyun and early notice of closure from Beijing’s Universal Factory on August 4th.
However, some netizens have expressed contrasting opinions, such as being prevented from going home near “Byte,” continuing to work despite the adverse conditions and lack of salary compensation or early leave by their employers.
Previously, several areas in Beijing endured seven consecutive days of extreme heavy rainfall, leading to severe floods. As per the official report from the Chinese Communist Party, as of 12:00 noon on July 31st, the death toll due to floods in Beijing increased to 44, with the worst-hit area being Miyun District, where a single nursing home reported 31 deaths. On August 2nd, less than 10 kilometers from Miyun District in Xinglong County, Hebei Province, three more deaths and four missing persons were reported, bringing the total deaths in Xinglong County to 11. Consequently, the official death toll from the North China floods announced by the Communist Party has risen to 75.
Given the Communist Party’s tendency to conceal disaster information, the actual situation could be more severe than reported.