The authorities of Beijing, the capital of China, have announced the activation of a citywide Level 1 emergency response for flood control on Monday afternoon.
The Beijing Emergency Management Bureau reported on its WeChat public account "Beijing Emergency" on the 4th that Beijing raised its heavy rain alert to red at 1 p.m. on the same day. It is expected that from the afternoon, Beijing will experience severe rainfall, with the heaviest precipitation concentrated between 6 p.m. that day and 5 a.m. the following morning. The city’s Flood Control Headquarters has launched a Level 1 emergency response and is urging residents to pay attention to safety and prevention measures.
The notice also advises citizens to avoid going outdoors unless necessary. Those who must travel are urged to heed travel advisories; do not drive through waterlogged roads, and do not park vehicles in low-lying areas or sections. It also calls on enterprises and public institutions, except those guaranteeing city operations and public services, to refrain from requiring employees to report to work unless necessary. All organized cultural and tourism activities, arts training, indoor and outdoor sports events, and sports training activities are to be suspended.
The notice states that all in-person school activities and outdoor teaching are suspended, and all in-person training at training institutions is halted. Construction sites cease work. All mountain and water-related outdoor tourism is stopped; all scenic spots, parks, and forest farms are closed, and homestays as well as local guesthouses are shut. Temporary traffic control measures will be implemented at key danger zones and main emergency rescue roads, and, if necessary, subway and bus service suspensions will be adopted. Trains passing through mountainous geological disaster areas and flood-affected areas will be suspended, returned, or rerouted in a timely manner.
The report indicates that people in dangerous mountain villages/houses, stranded tourists, urban dilapidated houses, and low-lying courtyards, and other threatened individuals must comply with arrangements for early evacuation. Once evacuated for safety, they are not allowed to return without permission.
On Monday morning, Beijing continued to issue warnings for heavy rain, flooding, waterlogging, and mountain flood disasters, and issued the highest-level heavy rain warnings for several mountainous areas; in Miyun District, where 31 nursing home residents have already died due to flooding, the possibility of mountain flooding is very high.