China: a vast area of several hundred million inhabitants, including the capital Beijing, placed on red alert

On Saturday, China placed part of the country, including the capital Beijing, under a red alert in anticipation of torrential rains, in the wake of typhoon Doksuri, which is raging at the other end of the country.

  

Doksuri, which has been sweeping across southeast China since Friday, is moving northwards where its "influence" is already being felt, according to China's meteorological services.

  

The red alert, in force from 20:00 local time, covers a vast area of several hundred million inhabitants, including Beijing, the neighboring metropolis of Tianjin, the neighboring provinces of Hebei (north) and Shandong (east), as well as parts of Henan (center) and Shanxi (north).

  

This is the first time since 2011 that such a heavy rainfall warning has been issued, according to local media. More than 60 cm of rain could fall locally, the weather service warned. In Beijing, several of the city's iconic parks, lakes and riverside roads were closed on Saturday for fear of flooding, the municipal authorities announced.

  

On Saturday afternoon, heavy showers briefly fell on several districts of Beijing. According to local media, the rains expected over the next few hours could be even heavier than those of July 2012, which claimed 79 lives in historic floods.