BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) - Rain began to soak northern China on Saturday as Doksuri, one of the strongest storms to hit the country in years, rolled toward Beijing after pummelling the Philippines and Taiwan, and lashing China's coast. A broad area encompassing the capital faces medium to high risk of rainstorm disasters over the coming three days, China's national forecaster said. Cumulative rainfall of 100mm (4 inches) or more is forecast over 220,000 square km (85,000 square miles), potentially affecting 130 million people. Doksuri was the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year and the second-strongest to hit the southeastern province of Fujian since Typhoon Meranti in 2016. Before hitting China, Doksuri roared through Taiwan and the northern Philippines, where rain and strong winds that led to the capsize of a ferry in which at least 25 people died.

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Persons: Doksuri, Meranti, Liz Lee, Jenny Wang, William Mallard Organizations: China Meteorological Administration, Firefighters, cnsphoto, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Philippines, Taiwan, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Fujian, Quanzhou, Fujian province, Anhui, Shandong, Putian city, Fuzhou, Putian