Extreme weather has led to the deaths of at least 60 people in northern China over the past week, marking one of the deadliest flood events in Beijing in recent years. Among the fatalities were 31 residents of an elderly care home in the hilly Miyun district of the capital.
Beijing’s deputy mayor, Xia Linmao, stated at a press conference that, as of midday Thursday, 44 people had died in the city, with nine still reported missing, reports Reuters.
Heavy rains began a week ago and reached their peak around Monday, affecting Beijing and neighboring provinces. Miyun district recorded up to 573.5 millimetres of rainfall, which local media described as “extremely destructive.” This figure is nearly equivalent to Beijing’s annual average rainfall of around 600 millimetres.
In the neighboring province of Hebei, authorities confirmed that 16 people had died due to the intense rainfall. In the city of Chengde, located just outside Beijing, at least eight people were killed and 18 remain missing. The deaths in Chengde occurred in villages in the Xinglong area, about 25 kilometres from Beijing's Miyun district and close to the Miyun reservoir — the largest in northern China.
State-run Xinhua, citing local authorities on Wednesday night, reported the fatalities but did not specify the exact time or cause of death.
The Miyun reservoir reached record-breaking water levels and capacity during the storm. On Sunday alone, it was absorbing up to 6,550 cubic metres of water every second — roughly equivalent to 2.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Meanwhile, in another village north of the reservoir in Hebei, a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall on Monday killed eight people and left four others missing.
Meteorologists have linked the extreme rainfall and severe flooding to climate change. These events present mounting challenges for Chinese policymakers, with some officials citing the disruption as a contributing factor in the recent slowdown in factory activity.