More than 150 people killed in China floods

More than 150 people have been killed in floods in northern and central China, since heavy rains hit the country in the last week.

Hebei, a province in northern China that surrounds Beijing has been affected the most, with the death toll of 114, and another 111 people still missing, according to the provincial Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The flooding began early Wednesday morning, catching many residents off-guard. More than 9 million people across 147 counties have been affected, while 155,000 houses have been damaged and more than 300,000 residents have had to relocate. The phenomenon has led to an economic loss of more than 2.4 billion U.S. dollars according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

An abandoned bus filled with sand bags is used to build a makeshift dike at a flooded area in Xingtai, Hebei Province, China, July 21, 2016. Picture taken July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. CHINA OUT. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSJAMQ

An abandoned bus filled with sand bags is used to build a makeshift dike at a flooded area in Xingtai, Hebei Province, China, July 21, 2016. Picture taken July 21, 2016. Photo by Stringer/Reuters

Zhigang Yuan, a local resident of Daxian County in Hebei who barely escaped, told Caixin Media, a Chinese news outlet, that he woke up in the middle of the night to see water pouring into his room. He broke the window of his door to escape the rising water in the room and climbed on top of the roof.

“I could have lost my life,” Yuan said.

Many locals in Xingtai blame authorities for failing to alert them ahead of the disaster. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, many believe the flood was caused by human error that led to a reservoir to breach. Authorities denied that claim, saying that water had overflowed the banks of the Qili River at a particularly narrow point.

“It was a natural disaster, not human-induced flood relief,” said Wenshuang Qiu, the city’s vice mayor.

China has been a frequent victim of extreme weather this summer. In early July, another flood in southern China killed more than 160 people. In June, a tornado killed 98 people in Jiangsu, a coastal province in eastern China.