Severe flooding in Beijing was caused by the heaviest rainfall in 140 years, according to local meteorologists, and there's little reprieve for the region as Typhoon Khanun lashes Japan with wind and rain.
Between Saturday and Wednesday morning, 744.8 millimeters (29 inches) of rain fell in the Chinese capital from the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, according to the Beijing Meteorological Service – the heaviest rain over consecutive days since records began in 1883.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Khanun packed winds of 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph) – the equivalent of a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane – as it made its nearest pass to Japan's southwestern Okinawa islands early Wednesday.
In the past 24 hours, many locations in Okinawa have received 175 to 220 millimeters (6 to 8 inches) of rainfall, according to CNN Weather on Wednesday morning.
More than 600,000 residents were ordered by the prefecture government to evacuate their homes, and strong winds took out power lines, leaving more than 200,000 households without electricity on Wednesday morning, according to the Okinawa Electric Power Company.
The center of Khanun is forecast to stall in the East China Sea in the next 48 hours, potentially making a turn toward Japan's northern Ryukyu Islands over the weekend and avoiding a direct hit to China's eastern coast, which has been drenched by the remnants of Doksuri.
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