Floods in China: 30 dead and 80,000 evacuated in Beijing after torrential rains in the north of the country

China's meteorological agency issued its second-highest rainfall alert for the Chinese capital on Tuesday, on a scale of four, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Also affected are the bordering regions of Hebei and Tianjin, as well as 10 provinces in northern, eastern, and southern China. Heavy rain is expected there until Wednesday, the same source said.

In Beijing, "the latest round of violent storms has left 30 people dead […] as of Monday midnight," Xinhua reported, citing the city's flood control center. "A total of 80,332 people have been displaced" by the storms, the local newspaper Beijing Daily, a state-run media outlet, reported on WeChat.

Miyun District, in northeast Beijing, recorded the most damage. "The rain was exceptionally heavy this time, it's not like this normally," a district resident named Jiang told AFP. "The road is full of water, so people can't go to work," she said, pointing to the road in front of her house submerged by a torrent of water.

Firefighters also rescued 48 people trapped in an elderly care center, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The northern districts of Huairou and the southwest districts of Fangshan were also particularly hard hit, according to state media.

The Beijing Daily newspaper also reported dozens of roads closed and more than 130 surrounding villages without power. "Please pay attention to weather forecasts and warnings and do not travel to high-risk areas unless absolutely necessary," the publication warned.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged authorities Monday evening to speed up the rescue of residents in areas at risk of flooding. The government has allocated 350 million yuan (42 million euros) for relief operations in nine regions hit by intense rainfall, CCTV announced Tuesday. A separate 200 million yuan (24 million euros) has been earmarked solely for Beijing, according to state television.

In Hebei province, which surrounds the capital, a landslide in a village killed four people and left eight missing on Monday, according to CCTV. Local authorities issued a flash flood warning, effective until Tuesday evening. Chengde, the regional capital, and its surrounding areas are under the highest alert level.

Natural disasters are common in China, especially during the summer, when some regions are submerged by torrential rains while others are plagued by intense heat waves.

China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are accelerating climate change and making extreme weather events more frequent and intense. The Asian giant is also a major player in the renewable energy sector, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.