At least 20 people have died and over a million have been evacuated from flood-affected areas as China suffers through record-breaking rainfall caused by typhoons.

Chinese state media reported a death toll of 12 in Beijing on Wednesday, with 12 still missing. State broadcaster CCTV reported a further nine deaths from the surrounding Hebei province.

Torrential rain has been falling since late July, flooding Beijing, Tianjin, and the Hebei province, with a reservoir in Beijing’s Changping district recording 744.8mm since Saturday, breaking the previous record of 609mm set back in 1891. A Hebei weather station recorded 1,003mm from Saturday to Monday, which is normally only seen over a year and a half.

According to CCTV, over 127,000 people have been evacuated from flood-affected areas in Beijing, while Hebei’s Zhouzhou city has evacuated around 134,000 residents.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered a search-and-rescue operation on Tuesday of those missing or trapped, reported by state media Xinhua.

“The safety of the people’s lives and properties as well as social stability must be ensured with utmost efforts,” he said.

Typhoon Doksuri, the storm initially responsible for the floods, has since dissipated, though Chinese meteorologists said that the currently active Typhoon Khanun has contributed to the rains persisting since Saturday.

Typhoon Khanun was initially feared to make landfall in China, but the latest forecasts from the Japan Meteorological Agency have since claimed it will change course and head towards Japan instead.

Photo: By Arend Kuester available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.