Miyun Reservoir in Beijing begins to release water downstream in response to continuous heavy rainfall

Miyun Reservoir in Beijing, the capital of China, began releasing water downstream at 15:00 on Sunday in response to continuous heavy rainfall.

The local meteorological observatory issued an upgraded red alert for torrential rain at 21:06 on Saturday, the highest level in China's four-tier, color-coded weather warning system.

Between 12:00 on Saturday and 02:00 on Sunday, the district recorded an average rainfall of 73.5 millimeters, with the heaviest precipitation reaching 315.3 millimeters at Huangtuliang Station.

In response, the Miyun flood control and drought relief headquarters activated a Level-I emergency response to carry out rescue operations.

Due to the heavy rainfall, inflow into the reservoir rose sharply, with the peak rate reaching 6,550 cubic meters per second.

Gu Tuo, deputy director of the Miyun Reservoir Management Office, noted that the reservoir successfully intercepted all upstream flood peaks, significantly reducing flood risks.

"In order to respond to the anticipated upstream inflow to the Miyun Reservoir, we have begun gradually increasing the discharge flow rate from 80 cubic meters per second to the current 200 cubic meters per second, starting at 15:00. Regarding the Chaohe River, the discharge flow rate from the third spillway is 120 cubic meters per second, while the flow rate from the Baihe hydropower tunnel is 80 cubic meters per second," Gu said.

"Starting at 16:00, we will gradually increase the outflow to 300 cubic meters per second. After 17:00, it will continue to rise to 400 cubic meters per second. Based on downstream water conditions and gate operations, we will adjust the discharge flow rate in a timely manner. If there is significant rainfall in the area, it could lead to further large-scale rainfall and flood peaks, which would gradually raise our water level. In that case, we will further increase the water discharge," he added.

As of 15:00 on Sunday, the water level of the reservoir stood at 153.62 meters, with a storage volume of 3.2986 billion cubic meters. The highest recorded water level in the reservoir's history was 155.35 meters, observed on November 1, 2024.

Miyun Reservoir in Beijing begins to release water downstream in response to continuous heavy rainfall

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting