China issues red alert after Typhoon Doksuri downpour
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Typhoon Doksuri surges onshore, causing dangerous weather conditions in several regions of the nation.
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Firefighters check rescue boats as they prepare for Typhoon Doskuri in Haicang District of Xiamen in China's Fujian province on July 26, 2023. (Xinhua via AP)
As Typhoon Doksuri surged onshore, bringing dangerous climate conditions to several regions of the nation, China's meteorological office issued a red alert for heavy rain in the capital Beijing and neighboring provinces on Saturday.
Doksuri slammed into southern Fujian province on Friday morning, packing winds of high to 175 kilometers per hour, and China's meteorological agency stated Saturday that its "influence" could now be felt in the country's north.
China has seen record temperatures this summer, which experts warn are being worsened by climate change.
Experts warned that Saturday's downpour might cause much greater floods than in July 2012, when 79 people were killed and tens of thousands were evacuated.
According to local media, this is the first time since 2011 that an excessive rainfall warning has been issued.
The red alert will be in effect beginning at 8 pm local time (1200 GMT) and will encompass an area of several hundred million people, including Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei and Shandong.
Several parks, lakes, and riverbank roads in Beijing have been blocked as a precaution, according to city officials on Saturday.
Heavy rain was recorded in the city on Saturday afternoon, and it is anticipated to continue until Tuesday.
On Saturday, officials in Fujian's provincial capital instructed people to leave their houses only if absolutely necessary.
The typhoon, which battered the northern Philippines, has caused multiple casualties and disruptions in the region.
Yesterday, at least 26 people lost their lives and 40 others were rescued when a ferry capsized in the Philippines during the aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri.
Doksuri, the fifth typhoon this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour near its center.pic.twitter.com/CyOgKQbc8v
— Zhang Meifang (@CGMeifangZhang) July 28, 2023
Heavy rain pulled the roof off a bus station in Xiamen, a major port city on the Taiwan Strait, and slammed it up against a nearby sign.
Some city roadways were littered with fallen trees, while considerable floods elsewhere hampered vehicle traffic and prompted police to respond.
Massive gusts of wind pummeled residential tower blocks in Jinjiang, a county-level urban region south of Quanzhou, according to images published on social media on Friday.
China has seen record heat this month. In the village of Sanbao in the northwest of the Xinjiang province, China reported a new mid-July high of 52.2°C on July 18, surpassing the previous record of 50.6°C established six years earlier.
The unprecedented heat came as US climate envoy John Kerry met with Chinese officials in Beijing, reviving stalled dialogue on cutting global warming emissions.
Kerry called for "global leadership" on climate challenges in a speech Tuesday at Beijing's Great Hall of the People with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi.
Temperature records have been smashed across the northern hemisphere this summer as a result of the climate emergency. Last month was the hottest June on record globally, and the first few days of July were predicted to be the hottest days ever recorded. The North Atlantic Ocean temperatures are abnormally high.
Heat records are being broken as a result of human-caused global warming, which is being exacerbated by ongoing greenhouse gas emissions and a developing El Niño phenomenon. Temperatures and extreme weather are expected to climb further until global emissions are reduced to zero. Last year, emissions reached a new high.
