At least 20 confirmed deaths and 27 additional individuals missing have been reported by state media on Tuesday, following days of heavy rain and flooding in and around the Chinese capital of Beijing.
Typhoon Doksuri which has caused heavy rainfall since Saturday has been "one of the worst storms" to hit northern China in recent years, prompting flight cancellations, service disruptions and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, NBC reported.
According to Xinhua, China's local news agency, Beijing received an average of 10.2 inches of rain from Saturday night to Tuesday morning, more than it typically does for the entire month of July. A reservoir in the Changping region of the city measured 29 inches of rainfall, the most that was ever measured.
According to local authorities quoted by Xinhua, the fatalities include 9 deaths in the neighbouring province of Hebei and 11 in Beijing. Meanwhile, 27 other people are still missing in Beijing and 6 are still missing in Hebei.
The downpour in Beijing, which typically has a dry climate, has closed scenic spots, shut down subway lines, and delayed hundreds of flights at the city's airports.
Mentougou, a suburban district, was severely affected, with streets clogged with water, mud, and forest debris. At least a foot of water remained on some streets where heavy equipment, including backhoes, forklifts, and bulldozers, was used to clear the water and mud, which remained over curbs and sidewalks.
The Yongding River, where floodwaters had swept away cars, remains muddy and debris-filled and people in the area struggle to move, with their scooters getting stuck.
One man collected items from his partially submerged car, while staff at a supermarket shovelled mud and broken tree branches from the front entrance.
The locals described it as something they had never encountered.
“This is not the first time I have seen such a heavy rain, but there has not been such a severe flood,” said a man surnamed Qu who has lived in the Mentougou area for most of his life.
“Residential areas are without water because pumping stations are flooded,” he added.
According to local media, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered “all-out” search and rescue efforts for the 27 people missing in Beijing, of whom 13 are in Mentougou, while the others are in the neighbouring districts of Changping and Fangshan.
Currently, China faces extreme weather this summer, including flooding and drought while Mentougou and Fangshan remain at the highest flood alert level, with heavy rains expected for a fourth day.
Additionally, torrential rain in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing killed at least 15 people in early July.
The country is also bracing for its third typhoon in as many weeks, Typhoon Khanun, which is expected to hit densely populated eastern coastal provinces later this week.