Heavy rains in the Chinese capital Beijing have killed 30 people and prompted authorities to evacuate 80,000 people, state news agency Xinhua reported.

This week, intense rains have covered vast areas in northern China, including the capital and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong.

More than 80,000 people have been evacuated in the Chinese capital alone, local state-run Beijing Daily reported on social media.

It added that "continuous extremely heavy rainfall has caused major disasters".

Most of the victims have died in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre.

The Huairou district in the north of the city and Fanshan in the southwest were also badly affected, state media reported. 

Dozens of roads are closed and more than 130 villages are without electricity, Beijing Daily reports.

"Please heed weather forecasts and warnings and do not visit risky areas unless necessary," the message said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged authorities to plan for the worst-case scenario and speed up the relocation of residents in flood-prone areas.

In Hebei province, which surrounds the capital, a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde killed four people and 8 are still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Natural disasters are a common occurrence in China, especially in summer when heavy rains fall in some regions and others bake in sweltering heat.

China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are causing climate change and contributing to the frequency and intensity of extreme weather.

But it is also a world power in renewable energy, aiming to make its vast economy carbon neutral by 2060. 

Flash floods in eastern Shandong province this month killed two people and 10 are missing.

This month, a landslide on a highway in Sichuan province also killed five people after sweeping several vehicles down a mountainside. | BGNES