Heavy rain in Beijing leaves 30 dead, forces evacuation of 80,000 people: Report

Heavy rains in the Chinese capital Beijing have killed 30 people and prompted authorities to evacuate 80,000, state media said Tuesday.

Intense rainstorms have pummelled swathes of northern China this week, including the capital and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong.

Over 80,000 people have been evacuated in the Chinese capital alone, local state-run outlet Beijing Daily said on social media.

It added that "continuous extreme heavy rainfallcaused major disasters".

The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre, it said.

Also badly affected were Huairou district in the north of the city and Fangshan in the southwest, state media said.

Dozens of roads have been closed and over 130 villages have lost electricity, Beijing Daily said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged authorities late Monday to plan for worst-case scenarios and rush the relocation of residents of flood-threatened areas.

In Hebei province, which encircles the capital, a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde killed four people, with eight still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported Monday.

Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.

China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.

But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.