Beijing's Shijingshan district evacuates 92 seniors amid red alert

Authorities in Beijing's Shijingshan district have evacuated 92 elderly residents from nursing homes following the issuance of a red rainstorm alert, the most severe in the four-tier warning system, as the capital braces for torrential rainfall.

Shijingshan was among five districts to issue top-level alerts early on Monday before Beijing's meteorological service expanded the red alert to cover the entire city, warning of intense rainfall from noon on Monday through Tuesday morning.

In response, the district government activated an emergency evacuation command unit and led the relocation of residents from Cishansi Nursing Home, located in a hilly area at higher risk of flooding, according to a report from Shijingshan Converged Media Center.

The evacuation plan was carried out in line with pre-established procedures, with full cooperation from the nursing home and the residents' families.

More than 200 personnel from the district's civil affairs bureau, health commission, fire department, and local subdistrict offices were mobilized to ensure the transfer was conducted safely and in an orderly manner, the report said.

All 31 elderly care institutions in the district were placed on top alert, with full staffing in place, according to local officials.

Lu Manjun, Party chief of the district's civil affairs bureau, said: "We took the red alert very seriously. All 31 nursing homes in the district were required to have staff on full duty, and the transfer of residents from high-risk areas was carried out with urgency."

The precaution comes amid high attention to nursing home safety following a deadly incident in Miyun district last week, where flooding overwhelmed a facility in Taishitun township, resulting in 31 deaths.

yangcheng@chinadaily.com.cn