20 killed as heavy rains hit Beijing
China dispatched dozens of rescuers to Zhuozhou on Wednesday as the leftovers of Typhoon Doksuri continued to wreak havoc on areas of the metropolis twice the size of Paris. Zhuozhou is a flooded city of over 600,000 people southwest of Beijing.
Zhuozhou is located in the province of Hebei, which took the brunt of the heaviest storms to hit northern China in more than a decade, killing at least 20 people. Beijing, which the city borders, had the highest rain between Saturday and early Wednesday in 140 years, according to official data.
Since Saturday, rainfall in Hebei has averaged 355 mm (14 inches), the worst since at least July 2012. As a result, authorities have declared a state of emergency. Over one-sixth of the city’s citizens were evacuated, affecting more than 134,000 residents of Zhuozhou, Reuters reported.
Floodwaters from Beijing were diverted, but the water still needed to go somewhere, so Zhuozhou received the brunt of it. BBC News, province of Hebei The impact was practically immediate. In the capital, the pressure decreased, but the water still needed a place to go. The town’s structures quickly turned into islands, cutting it off from the outer world.
Soon the electricity and drinking water were gone.
The simplest way for rescue crews to get to victims was via boat. However, because the initial rescue attempt was concentrated in Beijing, which has a significantly greater population, officials there claimed that they needed more boats for the task at hand.
Picture caption, The elderly were receiving assistance from friends and relatives as locals gathered to register at the shelters. They appeared stunned but also grateful to be safe. The older woman beside her agreed and stated, “All the buildings around us were flooded, some up to the second floor.”
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