Heavy rain causes death in Chinese Capital

By Ohworisi Elohor

State media reported on Tuesday that 30 people have been killed because of heavy rain in the Chinese capital Beijing. And this has led to the authorities evacuating 80,000 people.

Heavy rainstorms have severely affected large areas of northern China this week, including the capital and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong.

State news agency Xinhua said that the recent round of heavy rain storms has left 30 people dead in Beijing as of midnight Monday.

The death rate was higher in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre.

Huairou district in the north of the city and Fangshan in the southwest was severely affected, state media said.

Beijing daily reported that lots of roads have been closed and over 130 villages have lost electricity.

The outlet advised that; “Please pay attention to weather forecasts and warnings and do not go to risk areas unless necessary”.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping urged authorities to plan for the worst possible outcome, and hastened up with the relocation of residents of areas susceptible to flooding.

China’s high greenhouse gas emissions are thought to exacerbate climate change, leading to intense and more frequent extreme weather events.