Tuesday | 29th July 2025
At Least 30 Dead as Torrential Rains Lash Northern China, Triggering Floods and Landslides
Days of relentless rainfall have claimed the lives of at least 30 people in the mountainous northern outskirts of Beijing, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday, as a wave of extreme weather continues to batter northern China. The intense downpours have triggered widespread flooding, landslides, and other disasters across the region, prompting mass evacuations and emergency responses from authorities.
According to the state broadcaster CCTV, the brunt of the fatalities occurred in the capital’s northeastern Miyun District, a largely rural and mountainous area where 28 people were confirmed dead. An additional two deaths were reported in the nearby district of Yanqing, also situated in northern Beijing.
The torrential rains, which began over the weekend and intensified into Monday, have caused severe disruption across Beijing and surrounding provinces. In Hebei, which borders the capital to the south and west, a deadly landslide killed four people, and eight others remain missing. Rescue operations are ongoing, but treacherous terrain and continued rainfall have hampered efforts.
Emergency services have also reported widespread infrastructure damage. More than 80,000 people have been evacuated from flood-prone areas across northern China, including around 17,000 in Miyun alone. At least 136 villages were left without electricity, and dozens of roads were rendered impassable due to flooding or mudslides, leaving some rural communities isolated.
Footage shared on Chinese social media platforms shows harrowing scenes of brown, debris-laden floodwaters tearing through residential neighborhoods, submerging vehicles, toppling power lines, and turning city streets into rushing rivers. In one widely circulated video from Miyun, residents are seen wading through waist-deep water, with some climbing to rooftops to escape the deluge.
In response to the escalating situation, Beijing’s municipal government issued its highest-level flood alert on Monday, warning of rising river levels and the threat of catastrophic flooding in mountain regions. The city’s meteorological authorities also raised a red alert for rainstorms – the highest in China’s four-tier weather warning system – cautioning residents of the “extremely high risk” of mountain floods, mudslides, and landslides.
As a precaution, local authorities ordered all schools to close, shut down tourist attractions citywide, and suspended operations at rural homestays and campsites. Public safety announcements urged residents to avoid traveling in affected areas and to relocate if living in landslide-prone zones.
President Xi Jinping addressed the crisis on Monday, expressing deep concern over the rising death toll and the scope of the destruction. In a statement broadcast by CCTV, Xi described the situation as one involving “significant casualties and property losses” across Beijing and the northern provinces of Hebei, Jilin, and Shandong. He called for a “whole-of-government” response and instructed local authorities to prioritize the rescue of those still trapped or missing.
“All-out efforts must be made to carry out search and rescue, relocate and resettle people at risk, and minimize casualties to the greatest extent possible,” Xi said, adding that relief and recovery operations should be swift, coordinated, and comprehensive.
With rainfall expected to continue in some areas, emergency teams remain on high alert. Meteorological officials warned that the risk of secondary disasters—such as flash floods and earth movements—remains elevated, especially in hilly and mountainous regions where soil has already been destabilized by days of rain.
The deadly flooding comes as China, like many other parts of the world, experiences increasingly erratic and extreme weather events linked to climate change. Just weeks earlier, southern China was grappling with severe flooding, while parts of the north endured an extended drought.
Authorities have pledged to strengthen early warning systems, bolster emergency response capacity, and accelerate efforts to improve climate resilience in vulnerable regions. For now, however, the priority remains saving lives and preventing further tragedy amid one of the most destructive bouts of rainfall to hit northern China in recent years.