Beijing, China, is urgently responding to heavy rain due to the impact of Typhoon Dolphin, in which some areas have activated emergency response mechanisms to floods at the highest level.
At 10 am on August 11 (local time), the National Steering Committee for Flood and Drought Control and the Ministry of Emergency Management of China activated the level II flood emergency response for 2 cities: Beijing and Tianjin, before the risk of heavy rain, urban flooding and landslides increased. By 2 pm on the same day, authorities had activated the level I flood emergency response, the highest level, for some areas in Beijing such as Thong Chau and Huai Nhu.
According to forecasts from the Beijing Meteorological Agency, from the evening of August 11 to August 13, most areas in the city will experience rainfall of more than 100mm in 6 hours and more than 150mm in 24 hours. Authorities said they will deploy evacuation of residents in high-risk areas on August 11, and requested construction sites to temporarily suspend operations and close up mountain camping areas or attractions.
The government also encourages companies to apply flexible working hours or rotation from August 12. Schools may temporarily suspend classes and direct training activities depending on the situation, while organized outdoor sports activities will be suspended.
The National Meteorological Center of China is currently maintaining an orange warning about thunderstorms in many areas, forecasting heavy rain in many localities until the end of August 12, including Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing and Tianjin.
China has a 4-level thunderstorm warning system with color codes, with the severity being red, orange, yellow and blue respectively, along with a flood emergency response system from level I to level IV, gradually decreasing according to severity.
