Beijing gears up as rainstorms batter north China

Water drainage work is carried out on a road in Chaoyang District, Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING/SHIJIAZHUANG, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Rainstorms continued to batter Beijing and vast areas of north China on Sunday.

The Chinese capital issued a red alert for rainstorms on Saturday evening. As of Sunday afternoon, the red alert was still ongoing. According to Beijing meteorological authorities, from 8 p.m. Saturday to 5 p.m. Sunday, the average precipitation across the city was 89.6 mm, with the highest precipitation of 296.8 mm recorded at an observation station in Fangshan District.

All scenic spots in the city were closed off, sport games suspended and residents were advised to cancel unnecessary outdoor activities.

According to the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau, the city has dispatched more than 3,100 flood control and rescue teams with more than 200,000 people taking multiple measures to cope with the heavy rain.

Liu Bin, deputy head of the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau, said they had prepared for the emergency response for rainstorms brought about by Typhoon Doksuri on Friday evening. As of noon on Saturday, Beijing had relocated a total of 3,301 people from 14 districts.

On Sunday morning, Li Zhigang, a staff member with Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd., went with his colleagues to check the flood control materials and drainage equipment at a subway station in Chaoyang District.

"We have four people on duty at this station, mainly responsible for investigating the water situation on the roads near the subway station, the lower concave bridge, the subway entrance and the surrounding communities. In the event of an emergency, we will take response measures immediately," Li said.

Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd. has launched the highest-level emergency response to flooding, dispatching staff to double-check the drainage facilities in risk areas, including 155 lower concave bridges and 249 subway stations across the city.

The State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company has also launched an emergency response, dispatching emergency squads to risk areas and putting technicians and power generating facilities on standby, to ensure a stable power supply.

On Sunday, several flights in and out of Beijing Daxing International Airport were delayed or cancelled due to Typhoon Doksuri and heavy rains in many parts of China. The airport announced that it would go all out to help affected travelers with flight rescheduling and logistics.

From Saturday night to Sunday morning, a number of museums in Beijing announced temporary shut-downs due to the downpour. The Palace Museum was closed off on Sunday and will remain shut on Monday.

Meanwhile, a total of 20,656 people in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, have been evacuated, as the province has been experiencing continuous heavy rainfall since Friday due to Typhoon Doksuri.

From 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday, downpours battered most parts of Hebei. The precipitation at some meteorological observation stations in the province has exceeded 400 mm. The provincial meteorological observatory continued to issue a red alert for heavy rain at 5 a.m. Sunday.

As the rainstorm is forecast to continue, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters decided to upgrade the flood control and typhoon emergency response from level III to level II at 1 a.m. Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters in north China's Shanxi Province raised its flood emergency response across some of its localities from level III to level II.