Massive relief effort as Doksuri pummels Beijing

At least 20 people were killed and 19 missing after heavy rains lashed Beijing and surrounding provinces, submerging roads and flooding neighborhoods in mud, state media reported yesterday.

The floods came as storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, swept northwards over China after hitting Fujian in the south on Friday.

The central government has allocated 110 million yuan (HK$119 million) for disaster relief work in the capital and affected provinces.

President Xi Jinping yesterday called for "every effort" to rescue those "lost or trapped" by the rains.

Authorities "must properly relocate affected people, work quickly to repair damaged transportation, communication and electricity infrastructure, and restore the order of normal production and life as soon as possible," Xi said.

Heavy rains began pummeling the capital and surrounding areas on Saturday, with nearly a month's rainfall for July dumped in just 40 hours. Swathes of suburban Beijing remained badly hit by the rains.

Eleven were killed, including a firefighter and a town leader, with dozens reported missing and 127,000 evacuated.

In neighboring Hebei province, nine people died and six were missing, state media said.bAnother two casualties were reported in northeastern Liaoning province over the weekend.

Beijing's Fangshan district was one of the worst-hit areas after three days of flooding, with cars swept along roads that had turned into fast-flowing streams and buses half-submerged.

The government opened shelters for residents, offering them beds, food and water.

"We tried to return home to take supplies for the kids. But there is water everywhere at home," a woman at one of the centers said.

The Yongding River in the district overflowed and many people drove to the nearby Beijing-Hong Kong and Macau Expressway to observe the situation. "Usually the water level is very low and people can't even see the flow," a man said. "But the river overflows seriously today due to the rains. It must be dangerous."

On the Mentougou river banks, muddy debris were strewn across the road.

A man said he had not seen flooding this bad since July 2012 when 79 people were killed and tens of thousands evacuated.