State news agency Xinhua said tens of thousands had been relocated from vulnerable areas as of 9pm (1300 GMT) Monday, according to the city’s flood control headquarters.

Authorities warned of flooding risks in the northwestern suburb of Miyun – the hardest hit by last week’s deluge – as well as southwestern Fangshan, western Mentougou and northern Huairou.

The municipal weather service also announced a red alert – the highest in a four-tier system – forecasting heavy rain from noon on Monday until Tuesday morning.

Floods in Beijing’s northern suburbs killed at least 44 people and left nine missing last week, according to official figures.

Some 31 fatalities occurred at an elderly care centre in Miyun – prompting a local official to admit “gaps” in disaster readiness.

Residents of flood-hit areas told AFP journalists that they had been surprised at the speed with which the rushing water inundated homes and devastated villages.

Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.

China is the world’s biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.

But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.