Beijing [China], July 29 : At least 30 people have died following days of heavy rain in the mountainous northern outskirts of Beijing, according to a CNN report citing Chinese state media on Tuesday.
Severe rainstorms have lashed northern China in recent days, leading to flash floods and landslides. In Hebei province, which borders Beijing, a landslide killed four people, while eight others are missing, state media reported.
In Beijing, the rains intensified on Monday, causing the deaths of 28 people in the Miyun district and two more in the Yanqing district, both located in the northern part of the capital, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The downpours have also damaged dozens of roads and cut off electricity for 136 villages. More than 80,000 people have been relocated, including about 17,000 in Miyun, according to CCTV, as reported by CNN.
Footage circulating on social media shows brown floodwater sweeping through residential communities, washing away cars, knocking down electricity, and turning streets into rivers in Miyun.
On Monday, Beijing issued its highest-level flood alert, urging residents to stay away from swelling rivers. The city's meteorological observatory also issued a red alert for rainstormsthe highest in a four-tier systemwarning of intensifying rain during the night and "extremely high risk" of flash floods, mudslides, and landslides in mountainous areas.
By Monday evening, authorities ordered schools to be shut, all scenic spots across the city to be closed, and all rural homestays and campsites to suspend operations.
The heavy rainfall and the accompanying floods and geological disasters have caused "significant casualties and property losses" in Beijing and the northern provinces of Hebei, Jilin, and Shandong, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said on Monday, according to CCTV.
Xi instructed officials to make an "all-out effort" to search and rescue those still missing, properly evacuate and resettle residents at risk, and minimise casualties to the greatest extent possible.
On July 27, China's Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level 4 emergency response for flood control in Beijing, Xinhua reported.
Since Thursday, the Chaobai River has experienced heavy to torrential rainfall. The Miyun Reservoir, located in the northeast suburbs of Beijing, on Sunday recorded its largest inflow flood since the reservoir was built over six decades ago, according to the Ministry.
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