Apocalypse 2010: Signs of the end in Current Events: 2010-2020 - Decade of Extreme Weather? Heaviest rains in 60 years in Beijing, 10 dead

Sunday, July 22, 2012

2010-2020 - Decade of Extreme Weather? Heaviest rains in 60 years in Beijing, 10 dead

Heaviest rains in 60 years in Beijing, 10 dead — RT

Rescuers and residents stand next to a stranded car which is being pulled up from a flooded street under the Guangqumen overpass amid heavy rainfall in Beijing, July 21, 2012 (Reuters / Stringer)

Unprecedented rainfall and floods wreaked havoc in Beijing Saturday night, with over three feet of standing water on some streets. The heaviest downpour in the Chinese Capital in 61 years caused numerous disruptions to ground and air traffic. More than 80,000 passengers were stranded overnight at the Beijing Capital International Airport as thunderstorms and rain brought operations to a halt, forcing more than 530 cancellations and 50 delays. Flights resume on Sunday morning as rainfall subsided.

City authorities have confirmed ten deaths so far from the rains and flooding. Some were killed by broken roofs, but a majority suffered fatal electrocution from downed power lines. A fatal lightning strike was also reported. As heavy rainfall continued throughout the night, Beijing authorities evacuated 14,500 residents. Some 7,000 police officers were deployed to direct the high volume of road traffic caused by the flooding. Most of the city’s streets resumed normal traffic patterns by Sunday morning.

The heaviest rainfall was recorded in the Fangshan suburban district, at upwards of 18 inches.

According to data obtained by 20 state meteorological stations in Beijing, the city received over six inches of precipitation, the highest recorded levels since observation began in 1951. Ten additional deaths were reported in other provinces, mostly in mountainous areas where authorities evacuated residents over fears of possible landslides. Heavy rainfall in Sichuan province caused landslides that killed six; four more deaths were reported in the northern Shanxi province when a truck was washed away by river flooding.

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An aerial view shows flooded residential area after a bank of the Yabegawa river collapsed caused by heavy rains in Yanagawa, Fukuoka prefecture, Kyodo July 14, 2012 (Reuters / Kyodo)

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