Beijing: As authorities issued flood warnings and another storm approached the nation, the death toll from the region's record-breaking rains reached at least 78 on Friday.

After Storm Doksuri, which struck mainland China as a typhoon two weeks ago, brought on the most extreme rainfall since records began 140 years ago, the number of deaths from flooding in Hebei province reached 29, according to state media on Friday.

Rescuers are still looking for people who may have been drowned in the floods as another storm, Khanun, is set to arrive this weekend. Scientists claim that climate change is making extreme weather events like the deluge and weeks of record heat worse.

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When AFP visited Hebei, a province that borders the capital, on Wednesday, the streets there were still covered in mud.
Residents were rushing to clean up damaged homes and recover waterlogged belongings.

Ni Yuefeng, the party chief of Hebei province, stated that the region could "reduce the pressure on Beijing's flood control" and act as a "moat" for the capital during a visit to the affected areas last week.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, as of Thursday, 29 people had died in the province as a result of the rain, six of whom had been reported missing in the past.

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16 people remain missing. Authorities reported this week that two rescue workers were among the at least 33 fatalities in Beijing. Additionally, following last week's torrential rain, over a dozen people died in the northeastern Jilin province.

After the first few days of heavy rain in late July, two fatalities were reported in the neighbouring province of Liaoning.

Another flood control team was dispatched to the province on Friday, according to the official news agency Xinhua, where "the local flooding situation remains severe."

As Khanun, a former typhoon, approaches China over the weekend, more intense rains are predicted.

According to Xinhua, emergency alert levels are being maintained throughout northern China, and important riverways are being closely watched.

China's state media has praised the government's efforts to lessen the effects of the floods, with coverage emphasising stories of cross-country cooperation and selfless officials devoting endless hours to rescue operations.

However, some villagers in Hebei told AFP a week after the waters started to rise that they did not get enough advance notice from the authorities about when the floods would occur.

In order to lower flood levels in downstream areas, the Chinese government announced on Wednesday that it would set aside 1 billion yuan ($139 million) to pay out compensation to residents in flooded areas.

The fund would cover "damage to crops, animal and poultry farms, commercial forests, houses, and agricultural machinery," according to the official Xinhua news agency.

According to local media, authorities in Hebei alone claimed that almost four million people had been impacted by the flooding, with 40,900 homes collapsing. The province's crops totaling hundreds of thousands of hectares have been harmed.
According to Xinhua, insurance companies in Beijing are paying out at least 380 million yuan in claims for damages brought on by the recent rains. Not only in northern China is the weather bad.

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According to Xinhua, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warned on Friday that heavy rain was also likely over the weekend in the northwest provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, as well as the southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan.

This week, a flash flood southwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, claimed at least seven lives after an unexpected tide of water washed away a number of tourists on the Longxi River.

In addition, five people were killed in Gansu on Thursday after being swept away by mountain torrents following a rainstorm alert, according to Xinhua.