Beijing has been hit by deadly floods again. Is it unusual?

Debris piles up in a flooded street in Taishitun, in Beijing’s Miyun district, late last month. Photo: EPA

The rainy season in northern China traditionally arrives in July and August and this year it hit hard – again.

In late July, the capital Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province were battered by heavy rain that left dozens of people dead.

This year’s disaster is the fifth of its kind in the country’s north since 2012.

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‘It’s all gone’: Beijing villagers left with nothing after deadly floods

‘It’s all gone’: Beijing villagers left with nothing after deadly floods

Is the flooding in Beijing unusual this year?

Yes. The storms that hit in late July mainly affected the northern part of the capital while severe floods in the city in 2016 and 2023 were concentrated in the south.

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