A catastrophic deluge across northern China from July 25 to 27, 2025, brought record-breaking rainfall that swamped Hebei Province and parts of Beijing, killing at least two people, leaving two missing, and displacing tens of thousands. Officials say the rains dumped close to a year’s worth of precipitation in parts of Baoding City, which includes Fuping County, the epicenter of the disaster.
In Fuping, the Xizhuang station logged 532 mm (20.94 inches) of rain in just eight hours, with peak rates reaching 145 mm (5.71 inches) per hour. These figures mark the highest local rainfall totals ever recorded, according to Hebei meteorological authorities. The storm flooded entire villages, crippled infrastructure, and overwhelmed emergency systems.
July 25, 2025
— sustainme.in®️ (@sustainme_in) July 27, 2025
Hebei Province, China 🇨🇳
Record rainfall reached 448.7 mm in 24 hours. This led to the evacuation of more than 19,000 people and significant damage, including flooded streets and collapsed bridges. In some areas, water levels reached 2 meters, forcing residents to… pic.twitter.com/PxG3gDCyDH
Meanwhile, in Yi, a town in western Baoding, 448.7 mm (17.7 inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours, cutting off roads and bridges and causing widespread blackouts. Officials confirmed 19,453 people from 6,171 households were evacuated in the city alone, while over 46,200 people were impacted province-wide.
As the flooding unfolded, Miyun District in Beijing was also pummeled by heavy rain. Huangtuliang Station recorded 315.3 mm (12.41 inches) between July 26 and early July 27, with 302 mm (11.89 inches) falling within six hours. The resulting flash floods forced the evacuation of 3,065 residents from 149 villages. Authorities issued a Level-1 flood alert, and the Miyun Reservoir experienced a record inflow of 6,550 m³/s (231,200 ft³/s).
By Friday morning, Baoding remained under a red alert for heavy rainfall, and Hebei elevated its emergency preparedness level. Roads and bridges in Zhuozhou, still recovering from devastating floods in 2023, were again cut off after storms delivered more than 190 mm of rain overnight.
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) reported that Hebei has seen above-average annual rainfall since 2020, with 640.3 mm in 2024 alone — 26.6% higher than the historical average. Some localized areas in Baoding experienced 80% more precipitation than normal last year.
Continuous heavy rains across China have swelled 17 rivers above flood warning levels, impacting Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Hebei, Shanxi, Fujian and Yunnan. Beijing's largest reservoir in Miyun District has experienced its heaviest water inflow since it began… pic.twitter.com/IjA4IlGh4t
— China Takeaway (@China24Official) July 27, 2025
In Beijing, approximately 160 km (100 miles) from Baoding, rainfall was forecast to intensify on Friday and Saturday, with over 50 mm (2 inches) expected in a six-hour window. Authorities issued flash flood alerts for four districts, warning of possible landslides, debris flows, and other secondary disasters, particularly in the capital’s mountainous north and west.
The extreme weather also hit Inner Mongolia, where multiple trains were suspended from Friday through Tuesday due to flood risks along major rail corridors.
In response to the widespread flooding, the Chinese central government dispatched 23,000 emergency relief items, including food kits and blankets, to Hebei and affected regions in Shaanxi Province. Emergency services continue search-and-rescue operations in isolated areas like Fengjiayu Township, where communications were temporarily restored via satellite links.
Meteorologists link the persistent deluges to intensifying East Asian monsoon patterns, which have increasingly targeted northern China, a region traditionally much drier. Scientists have attributed this shift, in part, to climate change, warning that aging flood defences may not be sufficient to protect urban centers and the country’s $2.8 trillion
