Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, swept north across China after hitting the southern province of Fujian on Friday after hitting the Philippines.
Heavy rains began battering the capital and surrounding areas on Saturday, with near-average rainfall for the whole of July dumped on Beijing in just 40 hours.
Swathes of Beijing’s suburbs remain hard hit by the rains – some of the heaviest in the city for years.
On the banks of the Mentougou River, one of the most affected areas, AFP reporters saw muddy debris strewn across the road.
A man said AFP he had not seen such severe flooding since July 2012, when 79 people were killed and tens of thousands evacuated.
“This time it’s a lot bigger than that,” he said, declining to be named.
“It’s a natural disaster, there’s nothing you can do,” said a 20-year-old man surnamed Qi, who was waiting for a taxi with his grandmother outside a hospital. AFP.
“(We) still have to work hard and rebuild.”
On Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV said the rains had killed at least 11 people in Beijing, two of whom were workers “killed on duty during rescue and relief operations”.
Thirteen people are still missing, but 14 others have been found safe, the broadcaster said.
In neighboring Hebei province, nine people were killed and six are missing, he added.
Two other casualties were reported in northeast Liaoning province over the weekend.
President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for “every effort” to rescue those “lost or trapped” by the rains.
More than 100,000 people deemed at risk across Beijing have been evacuated, the state-owned company says world times log.
Authorities have allocated 110 million yuan ($15.4 million) for disaster relief in the capital and surrounding provinces, CCTV said.
“Enduring What We Can”
Florist Wang Yongkun, 62, had piled sandbags around the door of his shop, but the ground inside was still covered in mud.
He said that in 15 years of working there he had never experienced anything like the past few days.
“We started cleaning in the afternoon of yesterday…and woke up at seven today to continue,” he said.
“You just have to deal with it… We’ll endure what we can.”
Further south, in Fangshan district, the Dashi River had overflowed, with trees along the bank partially submerged and some sections of the road cordoned off.
The roads were covered in mud, foliage and various debris, including an overturned chair.
AFP reporters saw collapsed bridges in two places, with locals saying the damage occurred during the rains.
Earlier videos on social media tagged in Fangshan had shown several cars swept along roads turning into fast-flowing streams.
Broadcaster Live Images CCTV Tuesday morning showed a row of buses half submerged in floodwaters.
In the parking lot of a high-rise apartment complex, cars were piled on top of each other, alarms continued to ring, as people lined up with buckets and other containers to collect oil pure water.
chaotic scenes
Local media on Monday published footage of chaotic scenes aboard high-speed trains stuck on the tracks for 30 hours, with passengers complaining they ran out of food and water.
Authorities “must properly relocate affected people, work quickly to repair damaged transportation, communication and power infrastructure, and restore normal production and living order as soon as possible,” Xi said Tuesday.
The capital on Monday activated a flood control reservoir for the first time since it was built in 1998, the Beijing Daily reported.
Parts of Hebei remain under red alert for thunderstorms, with authorities warning of possible flash floods and landslides.
In Handan, Hebei province, rescuers lifted by a crane reached a man stuck on top of his car in floodwaters, pulling him to safety before the car overturned and swept away by the current.
China has experienced extreme weather and posted record high temperatures this summer, events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change.
The country is already preparing for the landfall of Typhoon Khanun, the sixth such storm of the year, as it nears China’s east coast.
