BEIJING (Reuters) -Storms in northern China have poured nearly a year’s rainfall on the city of Baoding, forcing more than 19,000 people out of their homes, the national forecaster said on Friday.
Rainfall in Yi, in the western part of Baoding, reached as much as 447.4 mm (17.6 inches) in the 24 hours to early Friday morning, and records were reset at a number of weather stations in Hebei province, which Baoding is part of.
Official records show that annual rainfall in Baoding averaged above 500 mm.
A total of 19,453 people from 6,171 households were evacuated, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said in a social media post.
The forecaster did not mention where the residents were moved to but shared a short clip showing two policemen in neon rain jackets boot-deep on a waterlogged street as the rain poured at night.
The forecaster compared the amount of precipitation to the exceptional rainfall brought by the powerful Typhoon Doksuri to the Hai River basin in 2023, which inundated the capital Beijing with rains unseen since records began 140 years ago.
The Hai River basin includes Beijing, Hebei province and the big port city of Tianjin.
Hebei recorded 640.3 mm in annual rainfall last year, 26.6% more than a decades-long average, according to CMA’s 2024 climate bulletin on the province.
The report said Hebei has been recording consecutive above-average annual precipitation since 2020.
Last summer, Baoding, together with neighbouring cities Zhangjiakou, Langfang, Xiongan and Cangzhou had 40% more than the usual seasonal precipitation, with some localised areas within Baoding recording 80% more rains, the report showed.
The intensifying rainfall forms part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China due to the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world’s second-largest economy.
Baoding maintained a red alert for heavy rains on Friday morning while Hebei upgraded its emergency response preparedness.
Chinese authorities are watchful of extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, as they challenge China’s ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on a $2.8 trillion agricultural sector.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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