Beijing has been devastated by extreme weather, with at least 30 people confirmed dead after torrential rains inundated the region. The Chinese capital received nearly a year’s worth of rainfall in just a few days, overwhelming its disaster management systems and prompting experts to label the city a “rain trap.”
According to state-run Xinhua News Agency, 28 fatalities were reported in Miyun district and two in Yanqing. Specific details on the timing and causes of the deaths were not disclosed. Most of the rainfall hit the mountainous northern regions of the city, close to the Great Wall.
Rainfall began last Wednesday and intensified sharply by Monday, with northern districts recording up to 543.4 mm (21.4 inches) of rain. This is significant considering Beijing’s average annual rainfall is around 600 mm. “The cumulative amount of precipitation has been extremely high—reaching 80–90% of the annual total in just a few days in some areas,” said Xuebin Zhang, a climate expert from the University of Victoria in Canada.
Zhang noted that the local geography—mountains to the west and north of the city—played a role in trapping moist air, causing it to rise and produce unusually high rainfall. China’s arid north has seen increasingly erratic weather in recent years, which many scientists associate with global warming.
This disaster is not unprecedented. In the summer of 2023, flooding killed at least 33 people in Beijing, and in Hebei’s Xingtai city, rainfall topped 1,000 mm in just two days—twice the annual average.
On Monday, President Xi Jinping acknowledged the “heavy casualties and property losses” across Beijing, Hebei, Jilin, and Shandong provinces. He ordered an “all-out” effort to rescue those affected. Xinhua reported that more than 80,000 Beijing residents have been relocated. Power was cut off to 136 villages, and transportation, including roads and communications, has been severely disrupted.
Beijing’s Huairou district recorded the most intense rainfall, with 95.3 mm falling in a single hour on Saturday. In Miyun, floodwaters reached roof level at an elderly care center, requiring emergency personnel to swim inside and rescue 48 residents using ropes.
As a precaution, authorities shut down parks, libraries, and cultural sites like the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City. Suburban trains and buses were suspended, and hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at Beijing’s two main airports.
The impact extended beyond Beijing. Hebei province and the nearby city of Tianjin also faced severe flooding. In Hebei, four people died in a landslide, with eight more missing. Some areas received six months’ worth of rain in just one weekend.
In Tianjin, entire villages were submerged, with only the roofs of homes visible. Roads and bridges were severely damaged. As of Monday night, the Ministry of Emergency Management warned that heavy rainfall would continue across Beijing, Hebei, and Tianjin, calling the ongoing disaster relief efforts “complex and severe.”
Residents turned to social media, pleading for faster rescue efforts. “The flood is still coming, and there is still no power or signal, and I still can’t get in touch with my family!” one person posted on Weibo Tuesday morning.