Two dead and thousands flee homes as heavy rain batters China after Typhoon Doksuri
The remnants of Typhoon Doksuri has dumped record amounts of rain on Beijing, forcing thousands to flee their homes. Mark McQuillan reports
By Christine Wei, ITV News China producer
Two people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes, as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri dumped record rainfall on the Chinese capital of Beijing.
People have been told to stay indoors and not go into work, by the city's flood control authority, as the rainstorms have continued to grip the city since Saturday.
A red alert was issued by Beijing officials, forecasting flooding along the Dashihe River in Fangshan district on Monday afternoon.
According to the city's authorities, a total of 28 flood control emergencies have been issued since Saturday night, with a flash flood, geological disasters and waterlogging all being listed as incidents.
Roads have collapsed, cars have been swept away and public transport has been suspended, thanks to the torrents of water.
Cars have been swept down city streets by the record breaking rainstorms
The floods in numbers
As the heavy deluge continues to break records, here's a glance at the floods in numbers.
Worst impacted areas
Fangshan district suffered from an average rainfall of 326 millimetres
In suburban Mentougou district rainfall was 287.3 millimetres
Urban areas in Beijing saw an average rainfall of 159.2 millimetres
Average rainfall in Beijing from 8 pm on Saturday till 9 am on Monday was to 149.6 millimetres.
The impact
As of Sunday evening, a total of 30,652 residents at risk had been relocated
4,069 construction projects had been suspended
243 tourist spots and 6,280 guesthouses had been closed.
4,350 flood control teams involving a combined 150,000 personnel remain on standby
A tour group of 45 seniors from Beijing who travelled to Baoding City in neighbouring Hebei Province were trapped on their way back to Beijing in Fangshan on Sunday due to the closure of the roads due to heavy rains and flooding.
Local authorities responded by coordinating different departments and arranging accommodation for the elderly.
A section of road of about 24 square metres outside the newly opened Joy City shopping mall in the Shijingshan district in Beijing collapsed on Saturday evening, no one was injured.
As of 8:30 am on Monday, a total of 227 bus lines have been affected with 182 bus lines suspending operation.
Thousands have been displaced by the deadly storms
According to the rainfall statistics released by the Beijing meteorological authority, from January 1till July 31 this year, the citywide cumulative precipitation amounted to 362.6 millimetres, which was 10 per cent above the usual amount of 328.9 millimetres in the same period of the past years.
Since the beginning of the flood season on June 1, the city's accumulated precipitation has already reached 306.8 millimetres, 21 per cent higher than the yearly average for July of 253.5 millimetres.
On Monday morning, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) maintained its red alert for rainfall, forecasting heavy rains in the majority part of Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and the eastern part of North China’s Shanxi Province.
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