File photo: VCG

Beijing has initiated a level I emergency response for flood control across the city on Monday following upgrading the rainstorm warning to red, the highest level in China's four-tier system, according to the emergency department of the municipal government. A heavy downpour has wreaked havoc in the capital over the past week.

The department said the capital city is expected to embrace heavy rainfall in the afternoon with the heaviest rainfall concentrated from 6 pm on Monday to 5 am on Tuesday. The municipal flood control headquarters has initiated a level I emergency response for flood control throughout the city. Citizens are advised to pay attention to safety precautions, the emergency department said. 

As of press time, the main stream of the Chaobai River and its management areas in seven districts of Beijing - Yanqing, Huairou, Miyun, Shijingshan, Mentougou, Fangshan and Fengtai, as well as in Shunyi and Tongzhou, have initiated the level I emergency response for flood control. The rest of the city has initiated a level II flood control emergency response, according to the local flood control department.

According to the Beijing Meteorological Service, from 12:00 pm on Monday to 8:00 am on Tuesday, most areas of the city are expected to experience heavy rainfall, with hourly precipitation possibly exceeding 70 mm or six-hour totals surpassing 100 mm. In some parts of Fangshan, Mentougou, and Shijingshan districts, six-hour rainfall may reach 150 mm or more, with isolated locations exceeding 200 mm, the observatory said. 

Mountainous and hilly areas face an extremely high risk of flash floods, mudslides, and landslides, while low-lying areas are highly prone to waterlogging. Residents are urged to take precautions.

Earlier, several rounds of intense rainstorms from July 23 to 29 have resulted in 44 fatalities in the national capital, with nine people still reported missing, according to the municipal emergency management bureau.

Miyun district, which was affected heavily by the rainfall during the last round of rainstorms, had predicted a fresh round of rainfall. During a recent meeting, the local government said that after the last round of heavy rainfall, the water-holding capacity of mountains, the ground and rivers has been saturated. This rainfall process will bring many uncertainties to flood control safety.

Local departments in the district are urged to get ready - always prioritize safeguarding the lives and safety of the people, and promote flood control, disaster relief and recovery and reconstruction work in a high-quality, efficient and safe manner to minimize losses in all aspects to the greatest extent.

Xiaobin, a Beijing resident who works in a large internet company, told the Global Times that his company had issued a notice to allow them to go home early on Monday as the rainfall warning had been raised to red. 

Liu, another resident from Chaoyang district was informed that the park near her home had been closed. The notice said that to ensure the personal safety of visitors, the Red Scarf Park will be closed from 6 pm on Monday in strict accordance with the flood control emergency plans of Beijing and Chaoyang. The reopening time will be determined based on the lifting of the warning.

Under the red rainfall alert, the residents in Beijing are advised to avoid outdoor activities, and employees are not required to be on duty unless it is absolutely necessary, the emergency department of the municipal government said. 

Organized cultural and tourism activities, cultural and arts training, indoor and outdoor sports events, and sports-related training activities should be suspended. Schools must cancel all in-person teaching activities and field-based educational programs, while training institutions must cease all offline training operations, making appropriate arrangements for the safe relocation of affected individuals.

Also on Monday, Beijing Hydrological Station issued a blue flood warning. Residents are advised to stay away from riverbanks and ensure personal safety, Beijing Hydrological Station said on Monday.

It said that from Monday to Tuesday, the Beiguan gate section of the north canal basin and Manshui River in the Daqing river basin are expected to reach flood levels meeting the blue warning standard. 

Sun Shao, a senior researcher at Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, told the Global Times drawing lessons from the recently rainfall in Beijing, rescue forces were deployed in advance in many places. But it is still necessary to focus on enhancing the defense capacity of areas with low disaster occurrence, he suggested.

Apart from Beijing, we should also improve the drainage and emergency avoidance infrastructure in suburban and rural areas as well as nearby areas such as Hebei and Tianjin in terms of infrastructure, and strengthen targeted early warnings and emergency drills in terms of software, Sun noted. 

The national flood control authority on Monday evening upgraded the flood control emergency response from level IV to level III for Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Guangdong provinces.