At least 20 people have died in China as severe flooding and heavy rain hammered the capital, Beijing. However, reports are coming out that suggest the number of casualties may go far beyond official data.
The city’s streets have been submerged for almost four days. Tens of thousands of inhabitants were evacuated Monday night.
In another city downstream of Beijing—called Zhuozhou—local officials told the press that flooding from Beijing was rushing into the area. The officials stated that Beijing’s council bureau had released excess water from reservoirs without notice and ahead of time.
Now, thousands of people are missing. In some residential compounds, flood waters reached as high as second-floor apartments. Videos from the area captured cries for help.
Meanwhile, train passengers heading to Beijing got stuck en route for over 30 hours. Some of them opted to brave the flood waters, and walked for over 10 hours to be rescued.
Destroyed vehicles, road construction debris, and uprooted trees piled into mountains of trash, halting traffic routes, with many buses and cars also getting swept away.
Air-force troops and helicopters have been deployed to rescue people, since ground transportation is at a standstill.
The chaos comes primarily from Typhoon Doksuri, which dumping record rainfall on the city of nearly 22 million.
But even more could be coming. A severe weather alert is warning of further rainfall for Beijing in the coming days.