Heavy rains drench Beijing as China braces for Typhoon Dolphin

BEIJING, Aug 7 – Multiple districts in Beijing issued heavy rainfall warnings on Friday evening with authorities warning residents of disasters including floods in the city centre and also mudslides and landslides in agricultural and mountainous areas.

• The extreme rains come as China readies for Typhoon Dolphin, which is expected to make landfall along the country’s eastern coast from Sunday to Monday.

• Beijing’s Dongcheng, Xicheng, Haidian, Chaoyang, Tongzhou and Pinggu districts all issued heavy rain warnings expecting hourly rainfall to exceed 50 millimeters.

• The highest rainfall occurred in Miyun district in northeast Beijing on Friday afternoon where precipitation reached 99.5 millimeters.

• Authorities said they have deployed more than 2,000 staff to help with the flooding around Beijing.

• Typhoon Dolphin is expected to bring heavy to torrential rains to multiple regions, authorities said.

• Heavy rains and floods in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi collapsed roads, damaged bridges, and power and communications infrastructure on Thursday, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people.

• China’s eastern and southern provinces have been preparing for Dolphin, suspending ferry routes, halting construction and evacuating fishing boats.

• Meanwhile high temperatures are widespread with central and eastern regions posting temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius. The latest heat-wave has also swept through northeastern China and broken records on the nearby Korean Peninsula.

(Reporting by the Beijing newsroom and Maxim Shemetov; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)