Baoding, a major city in northern China’s Hebei province, has been battered by unprecedented rainfall, receiving nearly a full year’s worth of precipitation within just 24 hours. The relentless downpour forced the evacuation of over 19,000 residents and marked one of the most intense storm events the region has ever recorded.
According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the western part of Baoding, including Yi County, registered 447.4 mm of rainfall approaching the city’s average annual total of around 500 mm. The storm’s intensity shattered historical records across Hebei and overwhelmed local infrastructure, triggering flash floods and disrupting daily life.
The deluge is being viewed as part of a wider pattern of intensifying extreme weather events across East Asia, strongly linked to the impacts of climate change. Rising global temperatures are believed to be amplifying the East Asian monsoon system, increasing the frequency and severity of heavy rainfall events in the region.
The CMA compared the event to the flooding caused by Typhoon Doksuri in 2023, which severely affected Beijing. This latest storm underscores the growing strain on China’s aging flood defense systems and the urgent need for resilient urban planning, particularly in densely populated and agriculturally important areas.
With relocation efforts underway for thousands of displaced residents, officials are monitoring weather developments closely as heavy rains continue to threaten other parts of northern China. The economic cost and long-term implications of such weather disasters are mounting, with concerns growing over the stability of food production, supply chains, and regional infrastructure under future climate pressures.