China’s capital triples death toll from heaviest-ever rains

BEIJING: Seven people were killed in flash floods in south-western China on Wednesday, as authorities in Beijing tripled the death toll from the capital’s heaviest-ever rains.

China has been hit by record downpours in recent weeks, damaging infrastructure and deluging swaths of Beijing’s suburbs and surrounding areas.

And in south-western Sichuan province, flash flooding on Wed­nesday killed seven people on Wedn­esday, state media reported. The victims, who were reportedly taking pictures when the torrent struck, were tourists visiting a popular site.

Thirty-three people have been confirmed dead and 18 are still missing officials said on Wednesday, in the recent bad weather in the capital, mainly by flooding and buildings collapsing — three times the figure given by officials on Tuesday last week.

33 people were killed and 18 remain unaccounted during recent downpour

“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.

Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves around the globe in recent weeks, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.

Sichuan torrent

Extreme weather has also struck in other parts of the country, with CCTV saying “local public security, fire and other departments are continuing to carry out search and rescue efforts” after the seven people were drowned in Sichuan’s Longxi River. The flash flood occurred an embankment southwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu, where “more than 10” people were swept away by an unexpected tide of water, state media said.

Video shared by CCTV showed several people struggling to keep their heads above water as a powerful torrent pushed them downstream and bystanders shouted from the water’s edge.

The cause of the deluge was not immediately clear.

Meteorological authorities in the nearby city of Qionglai issued a yellow warning for rain on Wednesday, anticipating possible precipitation of “more than 50 mm” over the next six hours in certain parts of the administrative district.

‘We might have drowned’

Fifteen people were reported to have died in Hebei province, which neighbours Beijing, and 22 were missing on Saturday.

This news agency team in Hebei’s Zhuozhou saw residents and workers clearing up debris and fixing damaged property on Wednesday, more than a week after rain started pummelling the region.

“With my car that was washed away, the merchandise from my com­pany and everything else, we’ve lost around a mil yuan ($­140,000),” said a female villager who declined to give her name.