BEIJING:
As another storm approached China on Friday, the death toll from the record-breaking rains in the region climbed to at least 78.
The death toll from floods in Hebei province rose to 29 on Friday, according to official media. The province was slammed by the worst rainfall since records began 140 years ago, when Storm Doksuri reached mainland China as a typhoon two weeks earlier.
The number of people killed by the floods in northern China has risen to 30.
Search efforts for flood victims have continued even as another storm, Khanun, is expected to hit the region this weekend.
After weeks of record heat, scientists claim climate change is to blame for the recent floods and other extreme weather.
When AFP checked out the province of Hebei on Wednesday, the outskirts of the city were still covered with muck.
Residents were rushing to salvage their soaked possessions and repair their homes.
Hebei province party chairman Ni Yuefeng visited impacted areas last week and claimed the area could “reduce the pressure on Beijing’s flood control” and act as a “moat” for the capital.
State media CCTV reported on Friday that 29 people had been killed by the rains across the province as of Thursday, including six who had been reported missing.
Sixteen people have yet to be found.
At least 33 individuals, including two rescue personnel, have lost their lives in Beijing, according to official reports.
In addition, last week’s heavy rains in the province of Jilin in China’s northeast resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen individuals.
Two people were reported dead in neighboring Liaoning province following the first few days of heavy rain in late July.
The local flooding situation remained serious, according to Xinhua, the state news agency, which reported on Friday that another flood management team had been sent to the province.
Also see: China’s disaster response systems are put to the test by flooding rivers and cities.
As tropical depression Khanun, once a typhoon, hits China this weekend, more heavy rains are forecast.
According to Xinhua, all major rivers in northern China are under constant surveillance while emergency alert levels remain in effect.
State-run media in China has praised the government’s response to the floods, with stories of citizens helping each other and government personnel going above and beyond to save lives.
Some Hebei villagers told AFP a week after the floodwaters first rose that they had not received sufficient notice from the authorities.
Wednesday, the Chinese government announced that in order to reduce flood levels further downstream, they would be allocating one billion yuan ($139 million) to compensate residents in places that had been flooded.
According to Xinhua, the government-run news service, the fund will compensate victims for “damage to crops, animal and poultry farms, commercial forests, homes, and agricultural machinery.”
Local media said that in the province of Hebei alone, 40,900 homes have been damaged or destroyed due to the water.
Damage to crops in the province is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of hectares.
According to Xinhua, insurance companies in Beijing have paid out at least 380 million yuan to cover damages from recent rainfall.
It’s not just northern China that’s experiencing severe weather.
Read more about how China is stepping up rescue efforts in the wake of record rainfall south of Beijing.
Heavy rain is expected this weekend in the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan in the southwest, and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai in the northwest, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, as reported by Xinhua on Friday.
In a flash flood southwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, at least seven individuals perished this week after being swept away by the Longxi River.
Xinhua also reported on Thursday that five individuals were killed in Gansu after they were caught in mountain torrents during a rainstorm warning.
