Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have been hit by severe flooding because of the record rainfall, with waters rising to dangerous levels. The rain destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water. It flooded rivers surrounding the capital, leaving cars waterlogged, while lifting others onto bridges meant for pedestrians. Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that borders Beijing’s southwest. On Tuesday, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work. It’s unknown how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the city and surrounding villages.
On Wednesday, waters in Gu’an county in Hebei, which borders Zhuozhou, reached as high as halfway up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed. Nearly 850,000 people have been relocated, local authorities in Hebei province said. On Wednesday, the number of confirmed deaths from the torrential rains around Beijing rose to 21 after the body of a rescuer was recovered. At least 26 people remain missing from the rains.
The previous record for rainfall was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said, when the city received 24 inches of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883. ap
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