Swollen rivers and torrential rains triggered deadly landslides and widespread flooding across China on Monday, killing at least four people and forcing thousands from their homes, as authorities warned of further extreme weather in the coming days.
Forty-one rivers have flooded nationwide, according to state broadcaster CCTV, citing the Ministry of Water Resources, which issued flood warnings for small and midsize rivers and mountain torrents.
Heavy rain intensified across northern and central China, including in Beijing, Hebei, Hunan, and Inner Mongolia.
In northern Hebei, four people were killed in a landslide and eight remain missing.
In Beijing’s suburban Miyun district, flash floods and landslides inundated villages, displacing more than 4,400 people.
At an elderly care centre, water rose nearly to the roof, trapping residents. Rescue teams swam into the building and used ropes to evacuate 48 people, CCTV reported.
Images on the Chinese social media platform WeChat showed submerged roads in Miyun, with cars and trucks floating and water reaching up the sides of residential buildings. Power outages affected more than 10,000 residents.
Beijing issued its highest-level flood alert on Monday.
The capital’s meteorological observatory warned rainfall could exceed 150 mm in six hours across much of the city, and top 300 mm in some areas. Rain was expected to intensify after 8 p.m. (12:00 GMT), particularly overnight.
The severe weather is part of a broader East Asian monsoon pattern affecting much of the country. Northern China, which has seen record rainfall in recent years, faces growing flood risks—an effect some scientists link to climate change.
In Shicheng Town, near the Miyun Reservoir, floodwaters surged to a peak of 6,550 cubic metres per second—an all-time high, Beijing officials said.
Xiwanzi Village was among the hardest-hit areas, with 100 residents evacuated to a nearby school. Two high-risk road sections were closed in Beijing’s Pinggu district.
Neighbouring provinces are also reeling from the floods.
In Shanxi, state media shared videos of roads turned into rivers and submerged crops and trees. Shaanxi province, home to the historic city of Xi’an, issued flash flood warnings. Search and rescue efforts were underway in Datong, where a driver went missing in the floods.
In Hebei, where two more people died over the weekend, the city of Baoding recorded a record hourly rainfall of 145 mm in Fuping. In Hunan’s Liudiequan Grand Canyon, a tourist was swept away on Sunday as water levels rose suddenly.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission said it had urgently allocated 50 million yuan ($6.98 million) in relief funds for Hebei.
The money will go toward repairing damaged infrastructure, including roads, embankments, schools, and hospitals.
Authorities are on high alert as extreme rainfall increasingly tests China’s flood defences, threatens agricultural production, and displaces vulnerable communities in densely populated areas.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, acc...
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citi...
Two people have been rescued alive from a tunnel in Nepal, nine days after catastrophic floods devastated the country, as rescuers continue se...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
The U.S. has launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites as Tehran retaliated against U.S. positions across the region, while Iranian officials said at least five people were killed and dozens wounded at a wedding near Sirik.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas says the bloc will tighten enforcement of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers were meeting in Ireland following renewed Russian strikes on cities across Ukraine.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 3rd of September, covering the latest developments.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
Pacific Island leaders expressed concern about China's Pacific missile test at their annual summit, though Nauru formally dissented, in a meeting largely overshadowed by Beijing's objections to Taiwan's presence.
China’s southern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong are bracing for more torrential rain after Typhoon Saudel triggered widespread flooding, swept away vehicles and caused a three-storey building to collapse.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 4th of September, covering the latest developments.
The Trump administration pressured U.S. space companies not to attend a high-profile space summit in Paris organised by French President Emmanuel Macron, prompting a last-minute reshuffle and the cancellation of some planned announcements, according to sources familiar with the matter.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment