Floods and landslides kill at least four in China amid worsening rainfall

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.

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