The sudden rainstorm hitting Beijing Monday killed two people, local government said Tuesday, marking another “death incidence” caused by strong rain since the July 2012 flood which battered the capital city and killed 79 people then.
Local government of Beijing’s Haidian district said early Tuesday that the two people who were trapped in a car wading through deep water under a bridge died in the hospital.
Around 9 pm Monday, Haidian was hit with a strong rainfall. The car was trapped under the Hanhe Railway Bridge where there was deep water accumulation. They were sent to hospital after being rescued.
The bridge where the two were trapped has a concave overpass with a two-way six-lane for motor vehicles, separated by a green belt in the middle. The water under the bridge was drained early Tuesday, and traffic has returned to normal, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
It was the second time that the capital city saw deaths caused by rainstorms since 2012. The total deaths reached 79 then and it was the heaviest rain in six decades. Average precipitation hit 170 mm, while a township in the suburban district of Fangshan recorded 460 mm of rainfall, Xinhua News Agency reported.
This year, Central China’s Henan Province also witnessed its heaviest rainfall in 60 years. The torrential rains and floods killed 302 and caused massive losses.
On Monday night, the meteorological observatory in Haidian issued an orange rainstorm warning. The accumulated precipitation of the Beichanghe Hydrological Station in Haidian District exceeded 80 millimeter in one hour. It warned of secondary disasters such as river floods, mountain torrents, and geological disasters.
Beijing municipal meteorological observatory also issued a blue rainstorm warning Monday night, warning the accumulated precipitation of rainfall in some urban areas, including Changping, Shunyi, Tongzhou, Fangshan and Mentougou, to reach 50-70 millimeter in one hour.
Buildings in Beijing blanketed in heavy rainfall Photo: VCG
