UPDATES WITH LATEST DETAILS; REVISES DOWN NUMBER OF MISSING PERSONS, FUNDS ALLOCATION; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE
By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) - Chinese authorities have deployed military choppers for the search and rescue of 13 missing people, as heavy rains killed at least 11 people in the capital Beijing.
The authorities revised the count of missing people from 27 to 13 after 14 people were “confirmed safe and removed from Beijing's missing persons list,” according to state media.
President Xi Jinping directed local authorities to "minimize casualties to the greatest extent possible.”
According to state broadcaster CGTN, authorities have allocated 110 million yuan (15.3 million) to “combat torrential rain” in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
At least 18 provinces of the country had issued alerts for torrential rain as Typhoon Doksuri hit China on Friday.
In several regions, the weather agency also issued a red alert, the highest in China’s weather system, only the second time since 2010 when such a system was put in place.
Two of the 11 deceased were part of the rescue and relief mission.
Beijing has witnessed average rainfall of 261.8 millimeters (10.3 inches) since Sunday.
Over 44,000 people have been severely affected across 13 districts of the capital while 127,000 people were relocated. Many parts of Beijing witnessed waterlogging and transport disruption.
Chinese meteorologists have warned of “extreme rainfall and a high risk of disaster as rainstorms swept the country's northern regions.”