Beijing building’s exterior walls torn into pieces by strong winds, turbulent waves in Shichahai.

For the past few days, Beijing has been experiencing a severe storm with consecutive orange wind alerts. The strong winds have torn the insulation layer of high-rise buildings into pieces, even flying debris smashing into residential windows like a “giant flyswatter.” The surface of Beihai Lake has been filled with turbulent waves. On April 13th, the strong winds in Beijing persisted, with gusts reaching 9 to 11 levels in some areas, and even exceeding 12 levels in mountainous regions.

According to a report from the Beijing Daily on the 13th, the meteorological department has issued orange wind alerts for areas including Yanqing, Huairou, Changping, Mentougou, Fangshan, Haidian, Shijingshan, Fengtai, and Tongzhou districts; while Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Daxing, Shunyi, Pinggu, and Miyun districts are under yellow wind alerts.

The municipal meteorological station forecasted that on the 14th, during the daytime, Beijing would continue to experience northerly winds of around 4 levels, with gusts reaching 7 to 8 levels and exceeding 10 levels in mountainous areas. Wind and fire prevention remains a key focus.

At 10:30 am on April 10th, the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Station issued an orange wind alert, marking the first such alert in the city in nearly a decade.

The Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue an orange wind alert on the 12th at 6 pm: from 8 pm on the 12th to 8 pm on the 13th, there would be strong winds of level 5 to 7 in the northeast of northwest China, Inner Mongolia, North China, Huanghuai, Jianghuai, and the northern and western parts of Northeast China, with gusts of 8 to 9 levels. In some areas like central Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, western and northern mountainous areas of Beijing, localized gusts could reach 10 to 11 levels.

The strong winds have also severely disrupted transportation in the capital. As of 9 am on the 13th, a total of 117 flights had been canceled (including adjustments), with 65 flights at Capital Airport and 52 flights at Daxing Airport.

During the peak of the wind, many residents reported that the insulation layers of high-rise residential buildings were blown off. Buildings in areas such as Tongzhou, Haidian, and Fengtai experienced falling wall cladding.

In a report by Chao News on the evening of the 12th, Mr. Ye in Fengtai District mentioned that he lives on the 17th floor and was watching TV on the sofa when he heard loud cracking noises outside his window. He was shocked to see the insulation layer of the building being torn apart by the wind, sounding like a giant fly swatter hitting against his glass windows.

Several residents observed falling wall cladding from buildings in their neighborhoods. In Tongzhou District, a resident reported, “In the riverbank area of Huaye Eastern Rose, two buildings in D block had their wall cladding stripped off, leaving a lot of debris on the ground.”

Ms. Xu in Haidian District witnessed wall cladding falling off a building across from her residence, speculating that it might be insulation from a renovation project in the neighborhood.

Many Beijing citizens saw building wall cladding being blown off onto the ground. Numerous netizens in Haidian District also captured images of wall cladding falling off buildings.

Nana, a citizen, saw wall cladding from a building thrown by the wind onto a smaller adjacent building, nearly causing damage. She quickly warned her children to stay indoors and avoid going outside.

Ms. Wang remarked, “It’s as if Shichahai is turning into the sea.” Due to the strong winds, waves surged on the surface of Shichahai Lake, with trees on the shore swaying from the gusts, accompanied by a howling wind.

Many residents who ventured outside due to various reasons experienced the power of the Beijing winds firsthand. Mr. Wu in Fangshan District saw several poplar trees being knocked down as he stepped out in the morning.

Chenchen, another citizen, noticed electrical boxes and fallen leaves and branches along the streets due to the strong winds. She also witnessed entire trees being uprooted, revealing the soil underneath.

In Changping District, a resident named Xiaowu mentioned that when he went out to shoot videos at noon, he and his friends had a hard time standing upright due to the force of the wind. He noted that thinner individuals might even risk being blown away by the wind.

According to official reports, by 10 am on the 12th, a total of 288 trees had fallen across Beijing, resulting in power lines being damaged in 7 locations and 19 vehicles being crushed. 262 parks (including 13 municipal parks) and 178 scenic spots were closed in the city, while temporary suspensions were also imposed on railways and civil aviation services.

The strong winds in Beijing have become a hot topic on various social media platforms like Weibo, sparking conversations and concerns among netizens.

One user named Xiaoxiao mentioned that the wind blew open the charging sheds for electric cars in her residential compound.

According to information released by the Beijing Meteorological Department, from 5 pm on April 11th to 6 am on the 13th, out of the 573 monitoring stations in the city, 509 experienced severe winds of level 8 or above, with 350 stations experiencing winds of level 9 or higher, accounting for 60% of the total. Additionally, 16 stations reported winds reaching levels 12 to 14. The highest gust speed in the city was recorded at 45.8 meters per second at the Gaoshan Rose Garden in Mentougou, reaching level 14.

The Beijing Financial Supervision Bureau disclosed to mainland media that from April 11th to 5 pm on April 12th, financial and insurance institutions in Beijing had received 297 automobile insurance claims amounting to 1.8819 million yuan (RMB), 16 agricultural insurance claims totaling 0.0653 million yuan, and 194 non-auto and non-agricultural insurance claims totaling 6.1373 million yuan, all resulting from the effects of the strong winds.