Floods in Beijing kill at least 20, leave 27 missing as thousands evacuated

Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in the nearby cities of Tianjin and Zhuozhou.

The severity of the flooding took the Chinese capital by surprise. Beijing usually has dry summers but had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year.

Other areas, especially China's south, have suffered unusually severe summer flooding that caused scores of deaths. Other parts of the country are struggling with drought.