FANGSHAN - Deadly rains that pummelled China's capital in recent days were the heaviest since records began 140 years ago, Beijing's weather service said on Wednesday, as a massive cleanup operation began.
At least 11 people have died in the rains in Beijing, state broadcaster CCTV said Tuesday, with more than a dozen missing.In Beijing's Fangshan district - on the border between the capital and Hebei - an AFP team saw a park that had been completely flooded, with tons of rubbish that had been washed away by torrential rains stuck near a bridge.Journalists also saw a military vehicle with caterpillar wheels on its way back from the most affected areas.
Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, swept northwards over China after hitting southern Fujian province last week, following its battering of the Philippines.The amount recorded in just 40 hours neared the average rainfall for the entire month of July. Two of the 11 people killed in the rains in Beijing died while "on duty during rescue and relief", according to state broadcaster CCTV.In neighbouring Hebei province, nine people were killed and six were missing, it said.President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for "every effort" to rescue those "lost or trapped" by the storm.