Typhoon Doksuri triggers mass evacuations as Beijing battles relentless rainfall
Typhoon Doksuri triggers mass evacuations in flood-prone areas of Beijing, causing officials to issue warnings on potential hazardous conditions. Climate change is believed to be a contributing factor.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from flood-prone areas of Beijing as Typhoon Doksuri brought heavy rain to China's capital on Sunday.
The storm, which had already caused devastation in the Philippines, swept northeastwards over China and prompted officials to issue warnings of potentially hazardous conditions including floods, swelling rivers, mudslides, and landslides.
Over 27,000 people in high-risk areas of Beijing were evacuated, and another 20,000 were relocated from neighboring Hebei province. Hundreds of millions of people in northern China, including Beijing, remain under a red alert for heavy precipitation. This is the first time since 2011 that such a heavy rainfall warning has been issued.
Beijing residents were urged to stay indoors and many popular sites in the capital were temporarily closed in response to the storm. Scientists have linked China's extreme weather conditions to climate change.
