China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in 140 years over the past few days.
The city recorded 744.8 millimetres (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said on Wednesday.
Chinese authorities on Tuesday said the torrential rains around Beijing had destroyed roads, knocked out power and caused at least 20 deaths with 27 people missing.
Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities.
The severity of the flooding took the Chinese capital by surprise. Beijing usually has dry summers but had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year.
Heavy rainfall caused destruction of roads, power cuts, water supply cut in many cities of the country. Out of all the Western China, Zhuozhou is the worst-hit city. It is located in Hebei province that borders Beijing’s southwest.
On Wednesday, waters in Gu’an county in Hebei, which borders Zhuozhou, reached as high as halfway up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed.
Torrential rain in the capital city has caused around 20 deaths and left more than 27 people misssing. It forced more than 850,000 people to relocate to relief and rescue camps, local authorities in Hebei province said.
Last time when the city was lashed with such a severe level of flood was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday, when the city received 609 millimeters (24 inches) of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883.
Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities. The central government is disbursing 44 million yuan for disaster relief in affected provinces.