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‘Risk of…’: Beijing's rare highest flooding alert as Typhoon Doksuri hits China
Typhoon Doksuri is one of the strongest storms to hit China in years.
China's capital Beijing issued its highest alert for flooding and landslides amid heavy rainfall in the city. Large parts of the suburbs "are at high risk of collapses, landslides and mudslides", authorities said, issuing a rare red alert for flooding. This comes after tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in the city as Typhoon Doksuri brought record rainfall. Flights were grounded and hundreds of roads were flooded, state media reported.
Typhoon Doksuri is one of the strongest storms to hit China in years. It caused widespread flooding over the weekend in Fujian and brought heavy rainfall in Tianjin as well as Hebei province- a region nearly the size of Britain. The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical depression on the weekend but three of the five rivers that make up the Hai river basin rose to dangerous levels as houses were washed into the Yongding river. Nearly 55,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Baoding city.
In Beijing, average rainfall reached 176.9 mm (7 inches) between Saturday night and Monday afternoon, with the maximum recorded rainfall in Mentougou district hitting 580.9 mm (23 inches).
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The Beijing observatory kept a red alert - the highest warning - for heavy rainfall in place while Beijing Hydrology Station upgraded its flood warning with more rain and river flooding forecast. The rain has halted work at more than 4,000 construction sites and almost 20,000 buildings were inspected for damage. All scenic spots in the city were closed, state media reported while both airports in the capital cancelled more than 180 flights on Monday morning, with hundreds more delayed.
As many as 358 roads in Beijing were affected by the rain although there was no reported damage or casualties, Reuters reported.
Forecasters also warned that as typhoon Doksuri tapers off, Khanun was approaching and is set to strike China's densely populated coast this week.
