Death toll in Beijing floods hits 33

Thirty-three people have been confirmed dead and 18 remain missing after Beijing's heaviest rains on record.

The capital has been hit by record downpours in recent weeks, deluging swaths of the city's suburbs and surrounding areas.

Floods in Sichuan province also killed seven people yesterday, while four were plucked alive from a torrent.

That came at about 10am near an embankment southwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu, where more than 10 people were swept away by an unexpected surge of water.

The victims, who were taking pictures when the torrent struck, were tourists visiting a popular site.

Video from CCTV showed several people struggling to keep their heads above water as the torrent pushed them downstream.

And meteorological authorities in the nearby city of Qionglai issued a warning for more rain today.

Officials in the capital said yesterday that the 33 died mainly in floods and building collapses - almost three times the figure given by officials last week.

Following a meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang, authorities vowed to speed up reconstruction of houses in the country's north and northeast and restore power, telecom connections and agricultural land to ensure people can return to their homes by winter.

Scores have died in the floods across northern China, with Beijing officials saying 147 deaths or disappearances last month were caused by natural disasters. Of those, 142 were caused by flooding or geological disasters.

In Hebei province, which neighbors Beijing, 15 people have died and 22 were missing.

And in Jilin, 14 died and one person was reported missing.

Further north in Heilongjiang dozens of rivers had water levels above warning markers in recent days.

"I still feel scared when I recall the flooding," Zheng Xiaokang, a police officer in the province's Jiangxi village, told Xinhua News Agency.

"The consequences would have been devastating had we not managed to evacuate villagers."

Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves around the globe in recent weeks - events exacerbated by climate change.