Beijing
At least 30 people have died and over 80,000 residents evacuated as relentless rainfall triggered widespread flooding across Beijing and northern China, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
The outskirts of Beijing, particularly the Miyun and Huairou districts, were among the worst affected, with dozens of roads washed away and power outages reported in more than 130 villages. Emergency teams deployed helicopters, drones, and bulldozers to reach stranded residents, as chest-deep water submerged large parts of the region. In Chengde city, northeast of Beijing, a deadly landslide claimed eight more lives on Monday. This disaster follows a summer of extreme weather in China, which has already endured record heatwaves in the east and severe flooding in the southwest.
President Xi Jinping has ordered “all-out rescue efforts,” directing local authorities to prepare for “worst-case and extreme scenarios.” The government has allocated 200 million yuan ($28 million) to restore damaged infrastructure and support relief operations. Ms. Yang, a resident of Hebei province, expressed concern over her family members trapped in Miyun district. With no contact since Sunday, she turned to social media for help, fearing their remote village might be overlooked by rescue teams.
Residents recounted the speed at which floodwaters surged. “It came so fast. Within minutes, everything was underwater,” said shopkeeper Zhuang Zhelin from Taishitun town. This summer’s floods follow a deadly pattern—China’s emergency ministry recently reported natural disasters caused losses of over 54 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in the first half of 2025, with flooding accounting for over 90% of the damage.