A Flash Flood Flipped Over Man’s Car In China. Here’s What Happened Next

A video showing the dramatic rescue of a man from a swollen river in China’s Hebei province has appeared on social media. The man was swept away by a local river while he was still in his car as Typhoon Doksuri caused flash flooding in parts of country. Firefighters used a helicopter to rescue the man, who was flowing in one direction due to the rapidly gushing water of the raging river. This is one of the strongest storms to hit China in many years.

The rescue operation was carried out in Wu’an city and was broadcast on China’s state television.

Dramatic rescue as car flips in fierce floodwaters #Hebei#China#Doksuri#Floods#Storm#Typhoon#Beijing#Mentougou#Tianjin#Climate#HaiRiver#Baoding#Shanxi#Shandong#Flooding#Viral#Weather#FlashFloods#洪水#中國#多克蘇里#颱風#北京#門頭溝pic.twitter.com/BYmPX5STQ7

— Earth42morrow (@Earth42morrow) July 31, 2023

Local news outlets said the man was swept nearly 100 metres while driving his car as flash flood struck.

Doksuri, a former super typhoon, swept northwards over China after hitting southern Fujian province on Friday, following its battering of the Philippines.

At least 20 people were killed and 19 were missing after heavy rains triggered by the storm submerged roads and deluged neighbourhoods with mud.

Heavy rains began pummelling China’s capital Beijing and surrounding areas on Saturday, with nearly the average rainfall for the entire month of July dumped on Beijing in just 40 hours.

A local told news agency AFP that he hasn’t seen flooding this bad since July 2012, when 79 people were killed and tens of thousands evacuated.

“This time it’s much bigger than that,” the man said, declining to give his name.

“It’s a natural disaster, there’s nothing you can do,” another man surnamed Qi, who was waiting for a taxi with his grandmother outside a hospital, told AFP.

More than 100,000 people deemed at risk across Beijing have been evacuated, according to state-owned Global Times newspaper. 

Authorities have allocated 110 million yuan ($15.4 million) for disaster relief work in the capital and surrounding provinces, CCTV said.