In the Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, a mudslide in the village of Xigou left four dead and eight disappeared, according to CCTV public television.
On Monday evening, the provincial authorities planned new floods along the rivers Lanhe and Beisanhe and issued red alerts (the highest alert level) in 15 counties, according to the China Nouvelle agency.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the authorities to prepare for the worst and to quickly evacuate the inhabitants of the areas threatened by the floods.
“Emergency measures must be activated and implemented as soon as possible in order to fully protect the life and property of populations,” he said, according to China New.
“Never seen so much water”
The national authorities responsible for emergency management have announced the sending of a team to support the fight against the “serious” floods in the province, where two people have already died during the weekend.
In Beijing, more than 4,000 inhabitants of the Miyun district, in the large semi-rural suburbs of the city, had to be evacuated because of the torrential rains.
The municipal authorities have issued two alerts: one maximum for floods, and one of the highest second for torrential rains. Strong precipitation should continue until Tuesday morning.
“I had never seen so much water,” said Cui Xueji, 67, who has always lived in the village of Taishitun, located in Miyun.
More than 4,600 other people were evacuated this weekend in the canton of Fuping, in Hebei, according to official media.
In the neighboring province of Shanxi (north of China), one person could be rescued, but 13 others are still missing after a bus accident, according to CCTV.
Images broadcast by the chain showed roads and fields drowned under water torrents.
Drowned
Another resident of Miyun, 64, Mr. Liu, says he saw the waters take vehicles to his neighborhood in the night from Sunday to Monday.
AFP journalists saw a site machine evacuating residents and a dog, while rescuers progressed in water arriving at their knees.
Firefighters also evacuated 48 people blocked in a retirement home, said CCTV.
Nearby in the village of Mujiayu, AFP has seen a large reservoir pouring immense amounts of water.
Electric lines were torn off by muddy waves and military vehicles as well as ambulances were trying to progress on flooded roads.
A river out of bed took trees in its path and fields were drowned under the waters.
Some roads have been seriously damaged, plotted concrete blocks strewn with the road, lined with twisted safety slides.
The low dwellings of this mountainous region, generally spared, were however surrounded by waves.
“Equip everything”
President Xi Jinping deplored on Monday evening the “important human and material losses” of recent days, according to the news agency China Nouvelle.
“It is advisable to ensure the smooth running of rescue operations in the face of floods, to do everything to seek and rescue disappeared or stuck persons, and to evacuate and rehousing the threatened residents, in order to reduce the number of victims as much as possible,” he said.
The National Economic Planning Agency has released 50 million yuan (6 million euros) to finance rescue operations and reconstruction in Hebei, according to China Nouvelle.
Natural disasters are frequent in China, especially in summer, where certain regions undergo intense rains while others are struck by drought.
The country is the largest global greenhouse gas transmitter, which, according to scientists, contribute to climate change and the intensification of extreme meteorological phenomena.
But China is also a world leader in renewable energies and aims for carbon neutrality by 2060.
In July, sudden floods in the Shandong province (east) left two dead and 10 missing.
A landslide that occurred on a Sichuan motorway (southwest) had also caused five people to death after winning several vehicles.
