Deadly downpours have triggered landslides and floods that swept away cars and destroyed roads in Beijing, as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri unleashed the heaviest deluge in a decade over parts of northern China.
Two days of rainfall have overwhelmed riverbeds around the western outskirts of the Chinese capital, turning once calm waterways into ferocious torrents that have swept into people’s homes and torn down streets, according to video on state television and social media.
At least 11 people have been killed and 27 others reported missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported, while more than 127,000 people have been evacuated from the city. Nine deaths were also reported elsewhere in northern China.
The sprawling megacity, home to nearly 22 million people, saw an entire month’s worth of rainfall over 48 hours – an average 175.7 millimeters (nearly 7 inches) – according to CNN Weather.
But in western districts hit hardest – and where most of the fatalities were reported – the downpours were far worse. In Mentougou district, the average rainfall was more than 18 inches, according to data from Beijing’s meteorological service, while nearby Fangshan saw 16 inches of rain.
The storm is the deadliest to hit Beijing since 2012 when floods killed 77 people – a toll that authorities initially tried to cover up.
China faces typhoons and heavy rains during the summer months, but the frequency and destruction that the annual rains bring have been exacerbated by climate change, experts warn. At least 300 people were killed in floods in Zhengzhou, central Henan province, in 2021.
Videos aired by CCTV showed one road bridge in Beijing that had broken in half with a queue of cars on top as several vehicles in the river below were swept away.
Footage of a sinkhole that opened outside a west Beijing mall and flooding at the Beijing Daxing Aiport were seen in videos shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Meanwhile, other videos showed rescue workers and residents wading through waist-deep water as they tried to escape the rising floods.
On Tuesday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered search and rescue efforts to be stepped up, state media reported.
“The affected people should be properly resettled, and the damaged infrastructures … repaired as soon as possible so as to restore the normal production and living order,” Xi said, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.
Authorities in China have not released any estimates yet on potential financial losses but had warned before the storm landed that torrential rains could damage crops and farmland just weeks before the normal autumn harvest.
Doksuri was one of the strongest typhoons to hit China in recent years. It made landfall in the southeastern coastal province of Fujian, where authorities say more than 2.6 million people were affected.
The typhoon weakened to a storm as it made its way north but unleashed huge amounts of rainfall.
Before hitting Fujian, the typhoon had killed at least 39 people in the Philippines and lashed parts of southern Taiwan.
