Beijing Floods Claimed Over 30 Lives And Left 18 Others Missing

Flooding caused by unprecedented rains across China's capital caused the collapse of 59,000 houses and damage to another 150,000.

As heavy rain continues to threaten parts of northern China, the casualty from recent floods near Beijing has grown to 33, also involving five rescuers. Authorities additionally stated that 18 people are still missing.

Authorities reported that the people who died had been caught in floods or had been trapped in collapsed structures.

The past few weeks have seen record rainfall in China's capital, causing widespread flooding in the city and its outskirts. Beijing's hilly western borders were struck particularly hard by the days of torrential rain, prompting the collapse of 59,000 dwellings, damage to roughly 150,000 others, and drowning over 15,000 hectares of agriculture.

At a press briefing, Beijing Vice Mayor Xia Linmao said that more than one hundred bridges and several roads had been destroyed, as the magnitude of the destruction is just now becoming clear.

The capital hasn't seen a natural calamity of this scale in a long time. Local reporters noted that the places severely damaged more than a decade ago — when over 80 people lost their lives as a result of a violent storm — were not among the worst afflicted by the new typhoon.

Northern China has also been pummelled by torrential rain and major floods, with several people dead by flood waters.

Authorities in Beijing reported this week that 147 people died or went missing in March due to natural catastrophes. According to China's Ministry of Emergency Management, 142 of those disasters were brought on by floods.

In the province of Hebei, 15 people were confirmed dead and 22 were still missing. Also, 14 people were killed in Jilin's northern region, and one person went missing.

According to official media, dozens of rivers in Heilongjiang's northernmost province have seen water levels increase past "danger marks".

Concerns about why lessons from that earlier storm were not learnt, roads and structures were not fortified, and why this destruction has occurred once again are now being raised.

The blazing summer temperatures and severe drought are affecting other parts of China as well, putting people's lives and crops at risk.

 

Source: aljazeera.com