Flash Flood Sweeps Away Campers in Inner Mongolia

A flash flood swept through a campsite in north China late Saturday, killing 10 people and leaving two missing, according to state media. The flood occurred around 10pm local time in Urad Rear Banner, an expansive mountainous area in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region known for its popular campsites. Thirteen campers went missing initially. By Sunday morning, one had been rescued and eight bodies had been found, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Two more people were found dead later in the day.

Northern China has seen several instances of flash flooding and landslides in recent weeks, the AP reports. Deluges in the northwestern Gansu province earlier this month left at least 10 people dead and 33 missing. Heavy rains have also battered other parts of the country, with Hong Kong seeing historic downpours. After flooding killed more than 40 people in the Beijing area late last month, including 31 at a care home for the elderly, a local Communist Party official made what the Guardian calls "a rare public acknowledgment of official failings," saying there had been "gaps" in planning and their "knowledge of extreme weather was lacking."