At Least 31 Dead in Beijing Nursing Home as Floods Kill Dozens Across Northern China

At least 60 people died in devastating floods sweeping across northern China in recent days, with more than half of the casualties occurring at an elderly care center in Beijing, officials said Thursday.

The disaster is part of a broader wave of torrential rains affecting the capital and nearby provinces, prompting a rare public admission of responsibility by Chinese officials.

According to municipal authorities in Beijing, 44 people died citywide due to the flooding, including 31 deaths at the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center in the Miyun district.

The real number of deaths from such events may be much higher, as the Chinese regime is known to routinely suppress or alter information.

The care center had 77 people inside in total, including eight staff members and 69 elderly residents—among them, 55 had some form of disability, Yu Weiguo, the Communist Party chief of the Miyun district, said in a press conference on July 31.

Yu said the care home was left unprotected despite warning signs and said the decision not to evacuate was tragically mistaken. He said the town center area, where the nursing home was located, was considered safe, and the emergency plan did not include it in the evacuation plan.

Beijing’s Deputy Mayor Xia Linmao also acknowledged the insufficiency in official response at the press event, saying that this incident shows that the city’s emergency plan “had loopholes and our understanding of extreme weather was insufficient.”

Public expressions of responsibility are rare from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, making the conference stand out to some international media outlets.

Across Beijing, the impact of the disaster was substantial. Over 300,000 people were affected, 24,000 homes damaged, and infrastructure destroyed in 312 villages in northern mountainous areas, Beijing’s officials said at the July 31 briefing.

Outside Beijing, Hebei province suffered major losses in the city of Chengde, just beyond the capital’s northeast border. At least 8 people were killed and 18 remain unaccounted for, local authorities announced.

Reuters contributed to this report.