TAISHITUN, China (AP) — Heavy rain and flooding in northern China killed at least four people and left several others missing Monday as tens of thousands of people were evacuated from areas around Beijing where more downpours were forecast.
The four victims were caught in a landslide in a rural part of Luanping county in Hebei province near the capital, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Eight people were missing. A resident told the state-backed Beijing News that communications were down and he couldn't reach his relatives.
More than 40,000 people were evacuated from outer districts of Beijing and the neighboring city of Tianjin as authorities released water from a reservoir in Beijing's rural Miyun district that was at its highest level since it was built in 1959. Authorities warned people to stay away from rivers downstream as their levels rose and as more heavy rain was forecast.
Heavy flooding washed away cars and downed power poles in Miyun district, which borders Luanping county.
China’s Premier Li Qiang said Monday that the heavy rain and flooding in Miyun caused “serious casualties,” and called for rescue efforts, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency.
Uprooted trees lay in piles with their bare roots exposed in the town of Taishitun, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of central Beijing. Streets were covered with water, with mud left higher up on the wall.
“The flood came rushing in, just like that, so fast and suddenly. In no time at all, the place was filling up,” said Zhuang Zhelin, who was clearing mud with his family from their building materials shop.
Next door, Zhuang’s neighbor Wei Zhengming, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, was shoveling mud in his clinic; his feet in slippers were covered in mud.
“It was all water, front and back. I didn’t want to do anything. I just ran upstairs and waited for rescue. I remember thinking, if no one came to get us, we’d be in real trouble,” said Wei.
Beijing authorities launched a top-level emergency response at 8 p.m. Monday, ordering people to stay inside, closing schools, suspending construction work and stopping outdoor tourism and other activities until the response is lifted.
The heaviest rain in Beijing was expected early Tuesday, with rainfall of up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) forecast for some areas.
CCTV reported that more than 30,000 people were evacuated from Beijing districts, including about 6,400 from Miyun where the reservoir is located. Another 10,000 people were evacuated from the nearby Jizhou district under the city of Tianjin, Xinhua reported.
The central government said in a statement it had sent 50 million yuan (about $7 million) to Hebei and dispatched a high-level team of emergency responders to help the affected cities, which include Chengde, Baoding and Zhangjiakou.
Beijing and Hebei suffered severe flooding in 2023.
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Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang in Taishitun, China, writer Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Washington contributed.
Ken Moritsugu And Mahesh Kumar, The Associated Press
