At Least 13 Dead as Torrential Rains Hammer Northern China

At least 13 people have died and more remain missing after days of torrential rains and flash flooding battered northern China, with the worst-hit areas including Inner Mongolia and the cities of Ordos and Bayannur, according to state-run media Xinhua.

The heavy downpours, part of a broader pattern of extreme weather across China since July, have caused rivers to burst their banks, washed away campers, and submerged roads and vehicles.

A flash flood on Aug. 16 swept away a group of 13 campers in the area’s grasslands near Bayannur, about 350 kilometers (218 miles) northwest of Ordos. At least 10 were confirmed dead, one was rescued, and two remain missing.

On Aug. 19, China’s state media reported that three additional bodies were recovered in Ordos, raising the region’s death toll to 13, with five missing.

The city received more than 204 millimeters (8 inches) of rain in under 24 hours on Aug. 18—more than double the monthly average for August—marking the first of three major downpours forecast for the week. The deluge has continued to overwhelm flood control infrastructure already pushed to its limits by weeks of record rainfall across northern China.

Rescue efforts are ongoing, with hundreds of emergency workers deployed in affected areas.

Footage circulating on Chinese social media platforms shows city streets turned into rivers, with vehicles partially submerged and swept away by floodwaters.

The full extent of the disaster remains unclear. Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s longstanding practice of limiting or concealing information during natural disasters, the actual death toll and scale of damage may be higher than officially reported.

The floods have displaced thousands, disrupted regional economies, and threatened critical infrastructure near key industrial hubs—including Baotou, a major center for China’s rare earth mineral production.

Central authorities have pledged billions of yuan in relief funds, equivalent to hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, with the current exchange rate approximately 7.2 yuan to the dollar.

Earlier this month, flash floods killed at least 10 people and left 33 missing in Gansu Province’s Yuzhong County as heavy rains battered northwestern China.

The rainfall triggered landslides, with more than 1,300 households and more than 4,000 people stranded across four villages, according to state-controlled media broadcaster CCTV.

The country’s Ministry of Emergency Management reported in July that natural disasters affected at least 25 million people and caused direct economic losses totaling $7.5 billion in the first half of this year.