Rainstorms, flooding batter Japan, China

A 20-hour storm in China on July 21 delivered as much as 18 inches of precipitation to parts of the country in and near the capital of Beijing (population 20 million), causing approximately $1.6 billion in economic damage, catastrophe modeller AIR Worldwide reports.

Almost seven inches of rain fell in the capital, the most since records were first kept in 1951. “According to a senior engineer from the Ministry of Transport, it rained as much in a single day in Beijing as it normally rains in six months,” AIR Worldwide states.

The deluge in and near the capital was part of a larger storm system across the country that has caused the evacuations of at least 567,000 people and killed 95 since July 20.

The July 21 storm left 37 people dead, 25 of whom drowned (the remainder died in collapsed buildings or as a result of electrocution). The heavy rain flooded 700 homes, caused the collapse of more than 30 roads or bridges and disrupted transportation at Beijing’s Capital International Airport, where more than 500 flights out of China were cancelled.

Meanwhile, in Japan, thousands of homes have been damaged on the country’s southern island of Kyushu following three days of extreme rainfall that produced flash floods and landslides.

The highest levels of rainfall were recorded in Aso, a city situated at the base of the Mount Aso volcano. At their worst, precipitation rates reached as high as 108 millimetres (four inches) per hour, accumulating to over half a metre (19.46 in) in a little more than 24 hours.

AIR Worldwide notes that some of the worst of the damage has occurred in Kyushu’s Kumamoto prefecture, where initial reports from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency suggest that almost 1,200 residential buildings were inundated above floor level. “In Fukuoka prefecture, a combination of landslides and flooding has damaged nearly 1,400 buildings,” AIR Worldwide reports. “Infrastructure and transport links have also been heavily impacted with widespread road closures and disruption to the rail transport network, particularly in the central region close to Mount Aso.”