Heavy rain causes flooding, evacuations and at least 38 deaths around Beijing region

BEIJING (AP) — Almost a year’s worth of rain caused flooding and landslides that washed away cars, forced evacuations and knocked out power around the Chinese capital, killing at least 38 people by Tuesday and rescue and relief work continued.

The flood risk for parts of Beijing, Hebei province and neighboring Tianjin city remained high until Tuesday evening.

State media broadcast footage of muddy waters rising into homes in rural areas and rescuers carrying an injured person on a stretcher and searching on a damaged road.

Premier Li Qiang said the heavy rain and flooding in the hard-hit Beijing district of Miyun caused “serious casualties” and called for rescue efforts, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The Beijing Daily, a state-backed paper, reported that the city had received 54.3 centimeters (21.4 inches) of rain in the last four days, which is just a bit short of the 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) the city receives annually in a year.

The storm knocked out power in more than 130 villages in Beijing, destroyed communication lines and damaged more than 30 sections of road. More than 16 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fell on average in Beijing by midnight, with two towns in Miyun recording 54 centimeters (21 inches) of precipitation, the city said.

Heavy flooding washed away cars and downed power poles in Miyun, an outlying district that borders Hebei’s Luanping county. More than 80,000 people have been relocated in Beijing, including about 17,000 in Miyun, a Beijing city statement said.

The city government said 28 people died in Miyun and two others in Yanqing district Monday.

Four additional people in neighboring Hebei province were discovered dead Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, after eight people were said to be missing after a landslide in a rural part of Luanping county in the province. Authorities had found four of the dead Monday.

Emergency rescue teams said more landslides occurred in the same region Tuesday, although they did not report any further casualties.

Uprooted trees lay in piles in the town of Taishitun, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of central Beijing. Streets were covered with water, with mud left higher up on the walls of buildings.