31 dead after elderly care centre in Beijing flooded, location was not covered by evacuation plans

31 people who were trapped in a flooded elderly care centre were among at least 70 people who have died as a result of the extreme storms that have hit Beijing and neighbouring provinces.

Unfortunately, the care centre was not included in evacuation plans as its location was considered "safe".

The elderly care centre was flooded

Almost a year's worth of rain had hit the area within a matter of days.

According to the Chinese officials, as reported by Yahoo, 31 people died at Taishitun Town Elderly Care Centre in Beijing's Miyun district.

China Daily reported that Taishitun Township, located upstream of the Miyun reservoir, was one of the areas that was hit the hardest by the extreme weather.

The floodwaters surged into the elderly care centre on Jul. 28.

When the floods hit, a total of 77 people were present in the building, comprising 69 residents and eight staff members.

Though emergency responders acted swiftly, the fast currents made rescue efforts extremely challenging.

Search and rescue efforts continued into the next day (Jul. 29), when multiple fatalities were confirmed.

Centre was not included in the evacuation plans

During a news briefing on Jul. 31, Miyun Party secretary Yu Weiguo revealed that the districts had evacuated over 16,000 people from 205 high-risk villages ahead of the flood season in response to weather alerts.

However, the elderly care centre was not included in the evacuation plans due to its location, which officials say "had long been considered safe".

Yu acknowledged that "there were gaps in [their] preparedness", adding that they "are very saddened and deeply grieved" about what happened.

Extreme weather has been going on since Jul. 23

Over 113,000 residents have been affected in Miyun district, China Daily reported.

The floods have also damaged more than 31,000 houses, almost 7,000 vehicles and 10 roads.

Power facilities in 105 villages were affected and 684 communication stations went offline as well.

Relief, rescue and reconstructions efforts are currently ongoing.

Top photo via Canva