Typhoon–Terrain Synergy: A Critical Mechanism Driving High-Frequency Flood Disasters in the Beijing Region

• DOI: 10.3390/w17071003
• Publication Date: 2025-03-31T05:59:36Z
• Authors: Zhongmei Wu; Ningsheng Chen; Li Qing; Xiaohu Chen; Na Huang; Yong Zhang

The extreme rainstorm flood disaster in Beijing on 31 July 2023 resulted in 33 fatalities and 18 missing persons, with direct economic losses across the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei metropolitan area exceeding RMB 10 billion. Despite its inland location, which is not conventionally classified as a flood-prone zone, Beijing is not conventionally considered a flood-prone region, yet it frequently experiences flood disasters, which has led to confusion and perplexity. This article collects records of historical flooding disasters in Beijing over the past 1000 years, spanning the Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Republics of China, and the founding of New China up to the present, aiming to analyze the basic patterns and characteristics of regional historical flooding disasters. Taking the extreme rainstorm flood disaster in Beijing on 31 July 2023 as an example, this research employs a multidisciplinary approach, including field investigations and numerical simulations, to dissect the disaster-causing mechanisms. The study shows that the significant characteristics of historical flood disasters in Beijing are concentrated in the plain area and the high-frequency outbreaks (below the 3-year return period). Flood disaster events under the participation of typhoons accounted for a high proportion and caused great harm. The extreme rainstorm flood disaster in Beijing on 31 July 2023 was an extreme weather event under the complex coupling of typhoons and terrain. The residual typhoon circulation stayed on the mainland for nearly 70 h, providing abundant precipitation conditions for Beijing. Water vapor is blocked by the Yanshan–Taihang Mountains, uplifting and converging, forming a strong precipitation center in the Piedmont, which aggravates the regional local precipitation intensity. The research results can provide a reference for the scientific prevention and control of typhoon rainstorm flood disasters in Beijing.