More rains expected in China as flooding death toll doubles

BEIJING //The death toll from the worst rains to hit Beijing in more than 60 years has risen to 77, more than doubling previous figures, China's official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

Beijing authorities had announced on Sunday that 37 people had died after freak rains caused rivers to burst their banks and flood major highways, submerging large numbers of vehicles.

In the worst-hit area of Fangshan, on the city's mountainous southwestern outskirts, distraught residents on Monday reported cars being swept away and said many people were still missing.

China warned that new rainstorms are forecast for several provinces after the heaviest flooding in 31 years hit Chongqing along the Yangtze River, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The coming three days will see "medium to heavy rains or rainstorms" in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan, the China Meteorological Administration said on its website. Beijing, which suffered the heaviest rainstorm in 60 years last weekend, may see intense rainfall later today, it said.

Water flow into the reservoir above the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze reached 71,200 cubic meters per second at 8pm on Tuesday, the most since the dam started operation in 2003, according to Xinhua.