Rain began falling in northern China on Saturday as Typhoon Doksuri, one of the strongest storms to hit the country in years, moved toward the capital Beijing after sweeping through the Philippines and Taiwan and hitting the Chinese coast. The Chinese Meteorological Administration stated that a wide area, including the capital, faces the potential for heavy rainstorm disasters over the next three days, with risks ranging from moderate to high. The administration added that "the intensity of Typhoon Doksuri is weakening, but the impact is not over," urging citizens to remain vigilant and avoid highly dangerous areas where rainfall could reach 600 millimeters.
Accumulation of rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters is expected over 220,000 square kilometers, which is likely to affect 130 million people. Beijing authorities have suspended indoor and outdoor sports events and raised the level of response to manage flood control.
Media reports indicated that Doksuri made landfall on Friday, causing power lines to fall and uprooting trees, affecting more than 724,600 individuals, and causing direct economic losses exceeding $7.3 million. Doksuri is the strongest typhoon to hit China this year and the second strongest to strike the southeastern Fujian province since Typhoon Meranti in 2016. State media reported that it resulted in school and institution closures and the evacuation of workers from offshore oil and gas fields.
Since record-keeping began in 1951, only 12 other typhoons have made landfall in or passed through Beijing, with the most significant being the typhoon in 1956 that brought 249 millimeters of rainfall. The intensity of the typhoon weakened as it moved northwestward and made landfall, transforming into a tropical storm in Anhui Province early Saturday, with wind speeds down to 30 kilometers per hour. However, as wind speeds continued to decrease, pinpointing Doksuri's center became more difficult.
The Chinese Meteorological Administration warned that Henan Province in central China and Shandong Province in the east would experience heavy rain, cautioning against mountain torrents, geological disasters, and flooding of farmland. Media reports noted that Doksuri affected about 880,000 people in the coastal Fujian Province, with over 354,000 evacuated and resettled, causing direct economic losses exceeding 478 million yuan ($67 million).
In the aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri, social media posts showed emergency personnel clearing uprooted trees and debris from landslides, along with images of people wading through water up to their thighs.
