Strong winds hit Beijing, killing 4

Strong winds have swept across the city of Beijing since Sunday, killing three men and a woman, local media reported.

A blue alert for wind was issued by Beijing Meteorological Service on Sunday morning, and was later elevated to a yellow alert in parts of the city including the districts of Tongzhou, Shunyi, Yanqing, Huairou, and Changping, where the wind scale reached as high as 9.

According to weather.com.cn, a website of China Meteorological Administration, the maximum wind speed on Sunday reached 17.9m/s.

Videos on Weibo showed the wind damaged a building's wall and snapped trees.

The photo taken on Monday, May 20, 2019 shows broken tree branches at a parking lot, in Beijing. Strong winds hit Beijing since Sunday morning, May 19, 2019. [Photo: IC]

Public transportation was affected, with as many as 51 flights canceled and two trains delayed.

Asian Cuisine Festival and Asian Civilization Parade, sideline events of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC), were suspended during Sunday afternoon.

Gales are expected to affect the city through Monday. According to Beijing Meteorological Service, the wind scale can reach 4 or 5 on Monday, part of the region 8 or 9. Citizens are advised to stay indoors until winds get weaker.

Municipal education authority has issued an order on Monday morning that high schools, primary schools, and preschools suspend all outdoor activities for students throughout the day out of safety concerns.