SWATHES of northern China are under red alert today as heavy rains batter Beijing and surrounding areas, washing away cars and flooding subway stations.

Deadly storm Doksuri has been sweeping northwards over China since Friday, with authorities warning millions of people to stay home.

Hundreds of bus services in the capital were suspended, reported Xinhua, while the city government issued the highest flood warning for the suburban Dashihe River.

Footage shared with AFP by a southern Fengtai resident showed a parked van submerged in fast-flowing brown water this morning as the rain continued.

A section of road in the outer Fangshan district caved in under rising water, local media reported.

Social media users uploaded footage of vehicles swept away by muddy torrents and thoroughfares turned into rapids on the outskirts of the city.

In one clip posted today on Xiaohongshu platform and geolocated by AFP, murky water could be seen swamping a large intersection in the outer Mentougou district next to high-rise apartment blocks.

And rainwater flowed onto a subway platform in western Beijing’s university district in another Xiaohongshu video from yesterday, geolocated by AFP.

Extreme weather

The streets of central Beijing were quieter than usual this morning as residents heeded official recommendations to work from home, with only a handful of delivery drivers braving pools of water seen in usually packed bike lanes.

The governments of Beijing and neighbouring Hebei renewed red alerts for storms today.

China has been experiencing extreme weather and posting record temperatures this summer, events scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.

Experts have warned the ongoing downpour could prompt even worse flooding than in July 2012, when 79 people died and tens of thousands were evacuated, said local media.

An average of 170.9mm of rain inundated Beijing in 40 hours between Saturday night and noon today, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said.

It is nearly equivalent to the average rainfall for the entire month of July, based on official records. – AFP, July 31, 2023.