33 dead, 18 still missing after record Beijing rains

BEIJING: At least 33 people have been confirmed dead and 18 are still missing after Beijing´s heaviest rains on record, officials said on Wednesday.

China´s capital has been hit by record downpours in recent weeks, damaging infrastructure and deluging swaths of the city´s suburbs and surrounding areas. Floods in China´s southwestern Sichuan province also killed seven people on Wednesday, state media reported.

Authorities in the capital said on Wednesday that 33 had died in the recent bad weather in Beijing, mainly by flooding and buildings collapsing, almost three times the figure given by officials on Tuesday last week.

“I would like to express my deep condolences to those who died in the line of duty and the unfortunate victims,” Xia Linmao, Beijing´s vice-mayor, told a news conference, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Scores have died in the floods across northern China, with Beijing officials saying on Friday 147 deaths or disappearances last month were caused by natural disasters. Of those, 142 were caused by flooding or geological disasters, China´s Ministry of Emergency Management said.

In Hebei province, which neighbours Beijing, 15 were reported to have died and 22 were missing. And in northeastern Jilin, 14 died and one person was reported missing on Sunday. Further north in Heilongjiang, state media reported dozens of rivers had water levels rise above “warning markers” in recent days.