Beijing has evacuated over 70,000 residents and placed all 16 districts on the highest level of alert as authorities brace for another round of heavy rainfall, a week after the capital witnessed its deadliest flooding in over a decade.
Between July 23 and 29, torrential rains killed at least 44 people in the city, most of them trapped at a nursing home in Miyun district, where rising floodwaters overwhelmed emergency systems. The tragedy prompted officials to acknowledge shortcomings in contingency planning for extreme weather.
Forecasters warned that up to 200 millimetres of rain could fall in just six hours in some areas, triggering widespread closures of outdoor sites including parts of the Great Wall. Authorities also suspended operations of underground businesses and urged residents to remain alert as the risk of flash floods and landslides remains extremely high.
The evacuations included nearly 14,000 people from Mentougou, a mountainous district in the city's west, according to state broadcaster CCTV. This marks the first citywide state of readiness since July 28.
Beijing’s terrain, surrounded by mountains to the west and north, is considered a natural rain trap, often intensifying downpours and complicating drainage. In 2012, the city recorded its worst floods in recent memory, with 79 fatalities, mostly in Fangshan district.
Read: Torrential rain displaces over 4,400 in Beijing
Wellness camp tragedy adds to rising toll
Beyond the capital, the downpours have taken lives elsewhere. In Chengde, Hebei province, three people died and four remain missing after floods swept through "Beijing Valley", a riverside wellness retreat. Around 40 people had gathered at the site on July 27 for a wellness event, where organisers had set up tents on low-lying land near a river bend.
By 2am the next morning, water had reached knee height, forcing attendees to flee toward the camp's only exit. The incident drew comparisons to Camp Mystic in Texas, where 28 children drowned last month when a river overflowed during torrential rains.
Read more: 21 children among 67 dead in Texas floods amid ongoing summer camp rescue effort
In southern Guangdong province, five bodies were recovered over the weekend following a large-scale rescue operation involving more than 1,300 personnel. The victims had gone missing after being swept away during Friday night’s storms, Xinhua reported.
With the summer monsoon season still active and more rainfall forecast in the days ahead, Chinese authorities are working to reinforce ageing flood defences, improve forecasting, and revise evacuation strategies as extreme weather events strain city infrastructure and emergency systems.
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