Rain pounds Beijing as Typhoon Dolphin sweeps through China

China's strongest typhoon this year has battered the capital with bouts of intense rain that have flooded key roads and stranded vehicles, while lashing wide swathes of the country after setting new rainfall records in central and eastern provinces.

Beijing has declared its second-highest rainstorm warning, suspending 250 bus routes and shutting 150 tourist attractions, while 10 subway lines are operating at reduced speed, state media reported on Wednesday.

The downpours have turned a multi-lane roadway in Beijing into a virtual river, bringing traffic to a standstill with cars and buses partially submerged.

The city's northern district of Changping has received the highest hourly rainfall, with 90.7 mm (3.6 inches) recorded within an hour after 9 a.m. on Wednesday, authorities said.

Typhoon Dolphin has weakened this week after travelling more than 6,000 km (3,700 miles) to make landfall on Sunday in the eastern province of Zhejiang. However, its remnants are carrying tropical moisture deep inland, raising the risk of flooding.

"The most troublesome part is that it affects work and life," said Zhao Junxia in Luohe, a city in the central province of Henan. "It's very inconvenient for food and transport."

Scores of cars have crowded a bridge that remained above the encroaching floods in the coastal city of Yuhuan after almost 200 mm (8 inches) of rain submerged nearby streets.

State media reported that rainfall records have been broken in parts of Zhejiang and the central provinces of Henan and Hubei this week.

Records for a single day of rain in August have been broken in the city of Wugang, which received 209.5 mm (8.2 inches) of rain, while Xiangyang received 169.1 mm (6.6 inches).

More rain ahead

People in northern and central regions are preparing for more days of rain from the remnants of the storm's vast rain bands.

In Luohe, Zhao, who hosts short videos on Douyin, said she moved her car to higher ground before the rain arrived to avoid a repeat of previous flooding.

"We parked the car 2 km (1.2 miles) away ahead of time because the waterlogging near our apartment can be particularly serious," the 32-year-old said.

Chinese meteorologists are turning to a new generation of artificial intelligence weather models to strengthen traditional forecasting systems and improve resilience to extreme weather.

Extreme rainfall causes billions of dollars in economic losses each year as manufacturing is disrupted and crops are damaged.