The Chinese capital Beijing has experienced the heaviest rainfall in recent days since records began 140 years ago.
In one district of the capital, 744.8 millimeters of rain were measured between Saturday evening and Wednesday morning, the city’s weather office said. The previous record of 644 millimeters was measured during a storm in 1891.
At least 20 people have died in Beijing and the neighboring province of Hebei since Saturday due to exceptionally heavy rainfall. Chinese state media reported at least eleven dead in Beijing. There were nine other victims in Hebei, which surrounds the capital. More than a dozen people were still missing as of Wednesday.
The extreme rainfall was a result of tropical storm “Doksuri”. Streets turned into raging rivers with masses of mud, parked cars were swept away by the floodwaters.
In the summer months, heavy rains and floods repeatedly occur in China, which claim many lives. Experts warn that climate change could make such events more frequent and violent.
