At least three more people have died in heavy rains in northern China, state media said on Tuesday, taking to 13 the death toll in recent storms across the region, with five still missing and no let-up in rain forecast.

Downpours heavier than usual have battered parts of China in extreme weather since July, with the East Asian monsoon rains stalling over its north and south.

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Monday’s downpour was the first of three forecast for the next few days, television news said.

It dumped more than 204 mm (8 inches) of rain in less than 24 hours on the district where the bodies were found, or more than double the monthly average for August, weather authorities said.

On Saturday, a flash flood after a river burst its banks in the region’s grasslands killed at least 10 people, sweeping away 13 campers on the outskirts of the city of Bayannur, about 350 km (218 miles) northwest of Ordos.

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Natural disasters across China in the first half of 2025 brought direct economic losses of 54.11 billion yuan ($7.55 billion) and affected more than 23 million people, an official from the emergency response ministry said on Tuesday.

A powerful earthquake in Tibet, deadly landslides in the southwestern provinces and widespread flooding in the southern regions were among the most damaging events.

Some 29,600 houses were destroyed, a 28.7% increase from a year ago, while 2.19 million hectares of crops sustained damage.

The economic losses were 41.9% less than the same period last year, according to a Reuters calculation, when flooding, drought and extreme temperatures cost China 93.16 billion yuan, the highest half-year figure since 2019.

Floods caused the most damage, accounting for over 90% of this year’s total losses at 51 billion yuan, the ministry said.

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