Beijing records 29 inches of rain from Saturday to Wednesday, its most in at least 140 years

Beijing, the capital of China, has witnessed an unprecedented amount of rainfall over the past few days, marking the heaviest recorded downpour in a minimum of 140 years, primarily as a result of the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.

The Beijing Weather Bureau reported on Wednesday that between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the city received approximately 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rainfall.

This extraordinary deluge has caused extensive flooding in Beijing and the neighboring province of Hebei, where the water levels have surged perilously. This has resulted in severe infrastructural damage including the destruction of roads, power cuts, and disruption to the supply of drinking water. The overflowing rivers around the capital have swamped vehicles, while others have been swept onto pedestrian bridges.

Among the most severely affected locations is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that shares a border with Beijing’s southwest. Local law enforcement, on Tuesday night, made a plea on social media for additional lighting to aid in rescue operations.

The precise number of individuals trapped in the flooded regions within the city and neighboring villages remains uncertain.

On Wednesday, the water levels in Gu’an county in Hebei, neighboring Zhuozhou, reached the halfway point on a pole where a surveillance camera had been installed.

Liu Jiwen, a 58-year-old resident of Gu’an county, was forced to evacuate his village on Tuesday night. “We are powerless against this natural disaster,” he lamented.

Two additional individuals attempted to navigate through the flooded regions to rescue a family member trapped in a nearby village.

On Tuesday, Chinese officials revealed that the torrential rains around Beijing have resulted in a minimum of 20 fatalities, with 27 people still missing. Close to 850,000 individuals have been displaced due to the torrential rain and subsequent flooding, according to local authorities in Hebei province.

The previous rainfall record was set in 1891, according to the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, when the city was doused with 609 millimeters (24 inches) of rain. The earliest accurate readings taken by machines date back to 1883.

However, Typhoon Doksuri’s record-setting rainfall may not be the end. Typhoon Khanun, currently battering Japan, is predicted to shift towards China later this week. This potent storm, with surface wind speeds reaching up to 180 kph (111 mph), might also impact Taiwan before arriving in China.

In response to the crisis, thousands of individuals have been relocated to temporary shelters in schools and other public facilities in suburban Beijing and neighboring cities. The central government has allocated 44 million yuan ($6.1 million) for disaster relief efforts in the affected provinces.

The flood’s intensity caught the usually dry-summer experiencing Beijing off guard, particularly after a period of record-high temperatures this year.

The report was compiled by Wu from Taipei, Taiwan, with contributions from news assistant Caroline Chen from Big Big News.

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More about Beijing Flooding

• Latest Updates on Typhoon Doksuri
• Record Rainfall in Beijing: Causes and Impacts
• Beijing Flooding: What We Know
• Historical Rainfall Records of Beijing
• Typhoon Khanun: Forecast and Potential Impacts