Northern China experienced heavy rainfall and flooding last week, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. The rural outskirts of Beijing were hardest hit, with 44 deaths and 9 people missing as of midday 31/7, according to Xia Linmao, Beijing's vice mayor.

Xia offered condolences to the victims' families and said the city government has "learned a profound lesson" from the disaster. "Our ability to forecast and warn of extreme weather is still limited, and our disaster prevention and mitigation plans are not fully developed," Xia said. "There are also shortcomings in infrastructure construction in mountainous areas."

Yu Wei Guo, the Communist Party secretary of Beijing's Miyun district, acknowledged "shortcomings" in flood preparations. Miyun was one of the worst-affected areas, with rainfall exceeding 570 mm on 28/7, a level described by local media as "devastating."

"Our understanding of extreme weather is limited. This painful lesson reminds us that putting people first, putting human lives first, cannot just be a slogan," Yu said.

A flooded area in Miyun district, Beijing, China on 29/7. Photo: Reuters

A flooded area in Miyun district, Beijing, China on 29/7. Photo: Reuters

The heavy rain closed dozens of roads and caused power outages in Beijing and surrounding provinces. In Hebei province, the rain resulted in 16 deaths, with at least 8 deaths and 18 people missing reported in Chengde city, northeast of Beijing.

"I have never seen such heavy rain in my 40 years of life. Neither have the 80- and 90-year-olds here," a resident of Huairou district, north of Beijing, said.

Nhu Tam (AFP, Reuters)