Forty-four people have been confirmed dead and nine others are missing in Beijing after intense rainfall hit the Chinese capital recently, a municipal official told the press.
The rain caused flooding and landslides, cutting off power and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. The heaviest death toll was reported in the Chinese capital, Beijing, followed by its neighbouring province of Hebei, where eight people died, state-run broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.
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According to the country’s Meteorological Administration, intense rainstorms started to hit many parts of northern China as early as Friday.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping said in an order Monday that the country was at a “critical” stage of its summer flood season and urged local officials to prioritise saving lives.
The Chinese central government said on Tuesday that it had allocated 350 million yuan ($48 million) in disaster relief funds to flood-struck places such as Beijing and Hebei.
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According to officials, the heaviest downpours in Beijing were in the mountainous northern districts of Miyun, where 28 people died, and Yanqing, where two died, calling the extreme weather event “rare and highly destructive.”
