Beijing's Mentougou district in the west saw dramatic damage a day before, after torrential rains turned roads into rivers, sweeping cars away. Several subway lines in the capital, including trains in western suburbs, were suspended on Tuesday. As of Monday night, China's capital city had sealed off over 100 mountain roads and evacuated more than 52,000 people from their homes. Rivers have swollen to dangerous levels, prompting Beijing to use a flood storage reservoir for the first time since it was built 25 years ago. Localised thunderstorms and strong winds were forecast on Tuesday for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, state broadcaster CCTV said, as rainfall stretched into a fourth day. Authorities have warned risks of further floods and other geological disasters remained. Tsai Ing-wen, president of democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, sent condolences, her office said, a show of cross-strait sympathy reserved for major disasters.Ĭhina's finance ministry announced it would allocate 110 million yuan ($15 million) for rescue work in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.ĭoksuri, one of the strongest storms to hit China in years, weakened as it rolled inland and dumped non-stop precipitation in northern cities over a few days. In Hebei province, nine people died and six were missing. President Xi Jinping demanded thorough search and rescue efforts for those missing or trapped, instructing authorities to minimise casualties and restore living conditions to normal as soon as possible, state media reported. The city government said rainfall over the past few days had surpassed levels seen in July 2012, when Beijing was hit by what was then the strongest storm since the founding of modern China, receiving 190.3mm of rain in one day and affecting more than 1.6 million people. The death toll in Beijing rose to 11 on Tuesday with 13 people still missing. In nearby Tianjin, where rain has become intermittent, 35,000 people have been evacuated from homes and the local government fortified river banks and stepped up the inspection and repairs of power, water and communications lines.įood delivery giant Meituan also added staff and extended delivery times as orders for vegetables, meat and eggs rose 50% on its app and overall shopping increased 20%, media reported. CORRECTED-UPDATE 5-Beijing, northern China boost rescue efforts after worst storm in yearsĬorrects 'half a year' to 'a year and a half' in paragraph 15īEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) -Beijing and nearby cities stepped up rescue efforts on Tuesday after rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri disrupted services and food supplies and claimed 20 lives in one of the worst storms to hit northern China in over a decade.īeijing's Fangshan district said it would deploy helicopters to drop off food, drinking water and emergency supplies to villages in mountainous areas that have been cut off.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |