China issues red alert for torrential rain in Beijing, surrounding regions

China’s weather service has issued a red alert for torrential rain in the capital Beijing and surrounding provinces, as Typhoon Doksuri swept inland bringing hazardous weather conditions to many parts of the country.Doksuri smashed into southern Fujian province on Friday morning with gusts of up to 175kph (110mph), and China’s meteorological service said yesterday that its "influence” was now being felt in the country’s north.China has been experiencing extreme weather conditions and posting record temperatures this summer, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.Experts have warned that the weekend downpour could prompt even worse flooding than in July 2012, when 79 people died and tens of thousands were evacuated, according to local media.It is the first time since 2011 that such a heavy rainfall warning has been issued, local media said.A broad area encompassing the capital faces medium to high risk of rainstorm disasters over the coming three days, China’s national forecaster said.Thunderstorms in the capital were forecast to peak this weekend.As the storm rolls inland, cumulative rainfall of 100mm (4”) or more was forecast over 220,000sq km (85,000sq miles), potentially affecting 130mn people."Doksuri’s intensity continues to weaken but the impact is far from over,” the China Meteorological Administration said, warning the public to be vigilant and avoid high-risk areas in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region where localised rainfall could reach 600mm (2’).The red alert will be in force from 8pm local time (1200 GMT).Several of Beijing’s parks, lakes and riverside roads have been closed out of precaution, the municipal authorities announced yesterday.Heavy showers were reported in the capital in the afternoon yesterday and are expected to last through Tuesday.In Fujian’s provincial capital, authorities ordered residents to only leave their homes only if necessary.Public transport has also been suspended.Doksuri had been a super typhoon as it tore across the Pacific Ocean earlier this week, but lost some intensity as it neared the Philippines.The typhoon killed at least 13 people there, and caused landslides and floods before tracking northwest to China and gradually weakening.It still brought colossal waves and howling winds to the country’s southeast on Friday, causing significant damage.In Xiamen, a major port city on the Taiwan Strait, heavy weather appeared to have ripped the roof off of a bus station and pushed it up against a nearby sign.Some streets in the city were strewn with fallen trees, while significant flooding elsewhere impeded passage by vehicles and brought police to the scene.Pictures shared on social media showed massive gusts of wind pummelling residential tower blocks on Friday in Jinjiang, a county-level urban area south of the city of Quanzhou.Videos of huge waves crashing over embankments and fierce winds whipping through urban areas were posted to the social media platform Weibo by the state-backed People’s Daily.In Doksuri’s wake, social media posts showed emergency workers clearing fallen trees and landslides, and people wading in thigh-high flood waters.Other damage reported around Fujian province included a billboard ripped off a hotel building by winds in Putian city, a large tree falling over a man who was later rescued and a garment factory in port city Quanzhou catching fire.Provincial media reported extensively on rescue efforts in the storm’s aftermath, of elderly trapped at home and a heavily pregnant woman, who was transferred to hospital on a stretcher in knee-deep waters.By later in the day, cities were beginning to recover.Fuzhou, which stopped metro services yesterday morning due to waterlogged subway stations, has resumed operations.The city, along with neighbouring cities Putian and Xianyou, reported the heaviest daily precipitation since 1961.The stormy weather follows weeks of record heat in China.At the beginning of July, Beijing and the surrounding region broke temperature records, with local temperatures in excess of 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit).Doksuri is the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year and the second-strongest to hit the province of Fujian since Typhoon Meranti in 2016.Since such records began in 1951, only a dozen other typhoons have reached or passed through Beijing, with one in 1956 having the greatest impact, dumping 249mm (10”) of rain on one weather station.