At least 30 people have died in several days of heavy rain on the northern outskirts of the Chinese capital Beijing. According to Chinese media, more than 80,000 people have been evacuated in the capital. Dozens of roads have been damaged and 136 villages have lost power. Chinese President Xi Jinping has directed officials to make every effort to search for and rescue the missing, properly resettle the displaced people and make every effort to minimise the number of casualties.
State broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday that 28 people had died in Beijing’s worst-hit Miyun district and two in Yanqing by midnight. Heavy rain lashed the Chinese capital overnight. Reports on Monday said four people had died in heavy rain and flooding. While eight others are still missing. The victims were trapped in a landslide in Hebei province. This brings the death toll from the storm to at least 34. More than 40,000 people were evacuated from Beijing’s outer districts and the neighboring city of Tianjin. Authorities released water from a reservoir in Beijing’s rural Miyun district
Which was at its highest level since its construction in 1959. Officials warned people to stay away from low-lying areas of the rivers as their water level was rising and heavy rains were forecast. Heavy floods in Miyun district, bordering Luanping county, swept away cars and knocked down power poles.