China’s capital records heaviest rainfall of year as Doksuri tapers off

Beijing’s 22 million people remain under a red alert for heavy rain as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri passes through city.

The Chinese capital, Beijing, has recorded its heaviest rainfall this year as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri passed through the city, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from high-risk areas in the region.

Average rainfall in Beijing overnight on Monday reached 140.7mm (5.5 inches), with the maximum recorded rainfall in the Fangshan area hitting 500.4 mm (19.7 inches), according to the city’s observatory.

Rains in the southern and western areas were expected to be heavier on Monday morning.

There was no reported damage or casualties, state media said.

Doksuri is one of the strongest storms to hit China in years and hundreds of millions of people in northern parts of the country, including in Beijing, remain under a red alert – the highest level – for heavy rain.

The alert covers Beijing’s 22 million people and Tianjin’s 14 million, as well as parts of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces.

It is the first time since 2011 that such a heavy rainfall warning has been issued, according to local media.

More than 31,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas in Beijing, according to the CCTV broadcaster, while another 20,000 were relocated from parts of the nearby city of Shijiazhuang.

Work was halted on more than 4,000 construction sites in Beijing, almost 20,000 buildings were inspected for damage, and scenic spots in the city were closed, media reported.

Doksuri was initially categorised as a super typhoon as it tore across the Pacific Ocean earlier this week but it lost some intensity as it neared the Philippines, where it killed more than a dozen people.

It still brought colossal waves and howling winds of up to 175km/h (110mph) to China’s southeast on Friday, causing significant damage.

More than 880,000 people in southern Fujian province were affected by the storm, state media said on Sunday.

While Doksuri continues to taper off, forecasters warned that typhoon Khanun was approaching and was set to strike China’s densely populated coast this week.

Authorities said Khanun could inflict further damage to corn and other crops that have already been hit by Doksuri.

The storms are hitting China after a summer of record temperatures, with scientists saying the extreme weather is exacerbated by climate change.