Hundreds of roads have been flooded in the Chinese capital, with videos released by state media showing half-submerged vehicles in Mentougou district being swept away by fast-moving torrents as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri dumped record rainfall over the city of nearly 22 million.
Two bodies were found in a river during an emergency patrol in Mentougou as rescuers pulled hundreds of people to safety in other parts of the town.
Besides Beijing, heavy rains continued to flood nearby Tianjin as well as Hebei province in an area nearly the size of Britain following Doksuri, which was downgraded to a tropical depression over the weekend. .
Three of the five rivers that make up the Hai River Basin reached dangerous levels on Monday. Some houses were washed away by the Yongding River and nearly 55,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Baoding city, state media reported.
Doksuri was one of the strongest storms to hit China in years and caused widespread flooding over the weekend in southern Fujian province, driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Average rainfall in Beijing reached 176.9 mm (7 inches) between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon, with the maximum rainfall recorded at a weather station in Mentougou reaching 580.9 mm (23 inches), according to state media.
The Beijing Observatory maintained a red alert – the highest warning – for heavy rain, while the Beijing Hydrological Station upgraded its flood warning with more rain and river flood forecasts.
Relentless rainfall from the weekend through Monday morning broke daily rainfall records at 14 weather stations in Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces.
More than 31,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Beijing, work on more than 4,000 construction sites has been halted, nearly 20,000 buildings have been inspected for damage and scenic spots in the city have been closed. , the media reported.
The capital’s two airports canceled more than 200 flights on Monday afternoon, including nearly 600 delayed, according to flight tracking app Flight Master.
Railway authorities dispatched workers to send food including instant noodles, eggs and ham, and drinking water to train stranded passengers overnight.
As many as 358 roads in Beijing were hit by rain on Monday.
In northern Hebei province, a driver was reported missing after two trucks fell off a collapsed bridge in Baoding city on Sunday, while a freight railway bridge in Shijiazhuang city was swept away by a river in flood, media reported.
As Doksuri continues to decline, forecasters have warned that Typhoon Khanun is approaching and expected to hit China’s densely populated coast this week.
Authorities said Khanun could further damage maize and other crops that have already been affected by Doksuri.
