At least 11 dead, 27 missing as remnants of Typhoon “Doksuri” drop record-breaking rain on Beijing, China
The remnants of Typhoon “Doksuri” dropped extremely heavy rains over Beijing and neighboring regions from July 29 to August 1, 2023, leaving at least 11 people dead and another 27 missing. Doksuri made landfall in Jinjiang, Fujian province around 02:00 UTC on July 28 as the strongest typhoon to hit Fujian since 2016. Before hitting China, Doksuri left at least 52 people dead in the Philippines.
Doksuri continued dropping heavy rains as it continued moving inland and weakening. By 16:00 LT on July 31, Beijing had experienced 40 hours of uninterrupted rainfall. Data from official sources reveal that from 20:00 LT on July 29 to 20:00 LT on July 31, the average rainfall in the city was 207.6 mm (8.17 inches). The Mentougou District, a scenic spot, recorded an excess of 580 mm (22.8 inches) of rainfall. Incomplete statistics (due to data transfer loss) indicate a maximum rainfall in Beijing over 48 hours reaching 687 mm (27.0 inches), shattering historical records.
As of 06:00 LT on Tuesday, August 1, Beijing recorded an average precipitation of 257.9 mm (10.2 inches), with the urban area averaging 235.1 mm (9.25 inches). In Mentougou and Fangshan, the average precipitation reached 470.2 mm (18.5 inches) and 414.6 mm (16.3 inches), respectively.
On the same day, authorities confirmed a total of 11 people have died and 27 others remain missing.
The deceased include four in Mentougou and two in Fangshan, the worst affected districts. Other fatalities include four in Changping District and one in Haidian District, according to the city’s flood control and drought relief headquarters. The 27 people reported missing include 13 in Mentougou, 10 in Changping, and four in Fangshan, Xinhua reported.
So far, around 127 000 residents across the city have been relocated, up from 52 000 reported on Monday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded an all-out search and rescue of the people missing or trapped in floods and geological disasters in an instruction on the work regarding flood prevention and disaster relief.
The damage across the region is extensive. Reports received by July 31 were summarized in the report below:
References:
1 11 dead, 27 missing in Beijing rainstorms – Xinhua – August 1, 2023
2 Record-breaking rainfall leads to destructive flooding and two fatalities in Beijing, China – The Watchers – July 31, 2023
Featured image credit: Eric Wang (stillshot)
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