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State media reports that the death toll in China's northern region has risen following extreme rainfall

Eight people have died in extreme weather conditions near Beijing. Another 18 are still missing. Heavy rains flooded the hills of the region last week.

State-run Xinhua late Wednesday reported citing local officials that the deaths took place in villages in the Xinglong region of Chengde, Hebei Province, without specifying how or when the people died.

Xinhua reported that the search for missing persons is ongoing.

Chengde, a mountainous town in China's Qing Dynasty, was a popular summer resort for Qing Emperors.

Beijing and its surrounding areas have been ravaged by extreme rains since last Wednesday. In some places, a full year's rain fell in a matter of days. At least 30 people were killed in the suburbs of Beijing. Twenty-eight of these deaths were in the hilly Miyun District.

The Chengde deaths occurred in villages that border Miyun, and are about 25 km (16 mile) from the Miyun Reservoir, which is the largest reservoir in China's northern region.

During this period of heavy rains, the reservoir experienced record inflow and outflow as well as a high water level.

The reservoir reached a new record of 3,63 billion cubic meters in its capacity on Sunday.

Eight villages are located on higher ground in a valley upstream from the Miyun Reservoir.

A landslide occurred in another village north of the reservoir on Monday, killing eight people and leaving four others missing.

Meteorologists have linked extreme rainfall and severe floods to climate change. Chinese officials attribute a slowdown of factory activity to the heavy rains and flooding. (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates; Xiuhao chen, Ryan Woo)

(source: Reuters)