Beijing adjusts emergency flood response measures

Beijing lifted its highest-level emergency flood response measures in eight districts at 9 p.m. Tuesday, the municipal flood control headquarters has announced.

The eight districts, most of which are located in the city's central urban areas, are Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Daxing and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area.

The city is maintaining its highest-level emergency response measures in the suburban districts of Yanqing, Huairou and Miyun -- all of which were hit hard by the recent rainstorms -- and in the Chaobai River area in Shunyi and Tongzhou.

Emergency measures in the districts of Fangshan, Mentougou and Changping were downgraded to the third-highest level in a four-tier emergency response system for flood control.

The headquarters has cautioned the general public against travel to dangerous areas such as mountains and rivers.

At 8 p.m. Monday, the Beijing municipal flood control headquarters activated the highest level of its citywide flood-control emergency response mechanism.

All-out disaster relief and rescue operations are underway in Beijing as the latest round of intense rainstorms have left 30 people dead in the Chinese capital as of midnight Monday, damaging roads, disrupting power supply and prompting mass evacuation in the affected areas.

The deaths occurred in Beijing's northern mountainous districts, with 28 in Miyun and two in Yanqing, according to local authorities.