Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in China's southwest after heavy rain caused hillsides to collapse, while two people died and 16 are missing following a mudslide in the country's west, state media reported
The mudslide caused by torrential rains killed multiple people on the outskirts of Xi'an in western China, an official news agency said.
Rescuers were searching for survivors after a mudslide killed at least two people on the outskirts of the city of Xi'an, Xinhua reported.
It said roads, bridges and power supplies were damaged.
In the southwest of China, some 81,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas of Sichuan province, the China News Service reported.
It said heavy rain caused hillsides to collapse and disrupted traffic, but there was no word of deaths or injuries.
The Chinese military and police personnel have been mobilised to help with the massive clean-up effort.
One unit of security police cleaned up sludge left after the flood at a high school in Zhuozhou, north China's Hebei Province.
Parts of China suffer heavy rains and flooding every summer, but this year has been unusually severe in some areas, while other regions struggle with drought that is damaging crops.
China's capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the region, turning streets into canals where emergency crews used rubber boats to rescue stranded residents.
The city recorded 744.8 millimetres of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning local time, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said overnight.
Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei were hit by severe flooding because of the record rainfall, with waters rising to dangerous levels.
The rain destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water.
It flooded rivers surrounding the capital, leaving cars waterlogged, while lifting others onto bridges meant for pedestrians.
The number of confirmed deaths from the torrential rains around Beijing rose to 21 on Wednesday after the body of a rescuer was recovered.
Wang Hong-chun, 41, was with other rescuers in a rubber boat when it flipped over in a rapidly flowing river.
Four of her teammates survived.
At least 26 people remain missing from the rains.
Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that borders Beijing's southwest.
On Tuesday night, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work.
Rescue teams traversed the flooded city in rubber boats as they evacuated residents who were stuck in their homes without running water, gas or electricity since Tuesday afternoon.
It's unknown how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the city and surrounding villages. Rescue teams from other provinces came to Zhuozhou to assist with evacuations.
Nearly 850,000 people have been relocated, local authorities in Hebei province said.
The previous record for rainfall was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday, when the city received 609mm of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, called the recent rainfall "extreme." Last year's total rainfall in Beijing did not even top 500mm.
Ma said there should be a review of how cities are planned because some places experience repeat flooding. "We need to avoid building large-scale construction ... in low-lying areas," Ma said.
The record rainfall from Doksuri, now downgraded to a tropical storm, may not be the last. Typhoon Khanun, which lashed Japan on Wednesday, is expected to head toward China later this week.
The powerful storm, with surface winds of up to 180km/hr, may also hit Taiwan before it reaches China.
Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities. The central government is disbursing 44 million yuan ($9.35 million) for disaster relief in affected provinces.
The severity of the flooding took the Chinese capital by surprise. Beijing usually has dry summers but had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year.