MENTOUGOU: At least 20 people were killed and 19 were missing after heavy rains lashed Beijing and surrounding provinces, state media said on Tuesday, in downpours that have submerged roads and deluged neighbourhoods with mud.

Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, swept northwards over China after hitting southern Fujian province on Friday, following its battering of the Philippines.

Heavy rains began pummelling the capital and surrounding areas on Saturday, with nearly the average rainfall for the entire month of July dumped on Beijing in just 40 hours.

Swaths of suburban Beijing remain badly hit by the rains — some of the city’s heaviest in years.

On the banks of the Mentougou river, one of the worst affected areas, reporters saw muddy debris strewn across the road.

Xi calls for ‘every effort’ to rescue those ‘lost or trapped’

One man said he had not seen flooding this bad since July 2012, when 79 people were killed and tens of thousands evacuated.

“This time it’s much bigger than that,” he said, declining to give his name.

“It’s a natural disaster, there’s nothing you can do,” said 20-year-old Qi, who was waiting for a taxi with his grandmother outside a hospital. “(We) still have to work hard and rebuild.”

On Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV said that the rains had killed at least 11 people in Beijing, two of whom were workers “killed on duty during rescue and relief”. Thirteen people were still missing, but another 14 had been found safe, the broadcaster said.

In neighbouring Hebei province, nine people were killed and six were missing, it said. Another two casualties were reported in northeastern Liaoning province over the weekend.

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for “every effort” to rescue those “lost or trapped” by the rains.

More than 100,000 people deemed at risk across Beijing have been evacuated, according to state-owned Global Times newspaper.

Authorities have allocated 110 million yuan ($15.4 million) for disaster relief work in the capital and surrounding provinces, CCTV said.

‘Endure what we can’

On Tuesday, emergency vehicles and workers were spotted on the road between Shijingshan and Mentougou districts.

In Shijingshan, next to the 2022 Winter Olympics Big Air jump, the Yongding River had completely flooded a park, burying benches in mud.

In Mentougou, 62-year-old florist Wang Yongkun had piled sandbags around the door of his shop, but the floor inside was still coated in mud.

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd, 2023