All-out relief efforts underway in flood-hit regions

All-out disaster relief and rescue operations are underway in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province as torrential rainfall wreaked havoc in northern China since the beginning of the week, damaging roads, disrupting power and water supplies, and prompting mass evacuation.

As of Tuesday evening, the death toll from severe downpours in Beijing was 30, with 28 deaths reported in the city's mountainous Miyun district and two in Yanqing district, while eight more people died in Hebei, where a landslide struck Luanping county, according to local authorities.

The rainstorm alert in Beijing, where 80,332 people were moved to safety, was canceled on Tuesday as the rain bands weakened and shifted eastward. The city, however, remains on its highest level of flood-control emergency response.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing, who has been entrusted by President Xi Jinping to oversee relief and rescue efforts in Beijing, led relevant department officials on Monday night to Miyun, where they met and consoled affected residents and guided flood prevention and disaster relief work.

Zhang emphasized that during the crucial period for flood control, special attention should be paid to vulnerable groups including the elderly, the ailing, and people with disabilities, ensuring their safe relocation. It is important to scientifically manage the flow and discharge of floodwaters and make every effort to minimize disaster losses, he added.

The maximum rainfall across entire Beijing was registered in two Miyun towns at 543 millimeters, with nearly 17,000 residents relocated in Miyun district as of Tuesday morning, according to the Beijing municipal government.

Along a stretch of the Chaohe River in Miyun, fast-moving, muddy floodwaters submerged lower tree branches, although heavy rain had eased to a drizzle by Tuesday noon.