שיטפונות קשים בבייג'ינג | עובדת חילוץ: אסור לנו לחשוף מידע, המצב חמור יותר מהמדווח

As of Thursday, the official death toll from Beijing's week-long flood has risen to 44 people. 31 of those deaths occurred at a single nursing home. But questions remain about whether the official figures fully reflect the situation. We spoke with a first responder in Beijing's flood zone. She said authorities ordered them not to share details of the flood outside the area. To protect her identity, we have distorted her voice. Casualties are unavoidable, but we don't know the exact numbers. I saw a body pulled out today. There were many landslides and quite a few houses did collapse. A lot of cars were submerged. Recovery is very difficult. The mud buried the vehicles and the affected area is huge. The losses are significant. Since earlier this week, Beijing and its surrounding region have been hit by heavy rains causing widespread flooding and water logging. Local residents say the situation worsened after large releases of water from reservoirs. The floodwaters have receded, but the Pinggu Reservoir is still releasing water and the current remains very strong. Earlier, the water rose over six feet. Many villages, roads and houses in this area suffered severe damage. The farmers were hit the hardest. Their crops were all destroyed. The orchards completely flooded and there was nothing left to harvest. At least nine reservoirs repeatedly opened their gates at the same time on Wednesday. These rapid and powerful releases left many residents with little time to react before floodwaters reached their homes.