Chinese official makes rare admission of failings over deadly Beijing floods

A man walks past an overturned truck in a street affected by flooding in Taishitun, in the district of Miyun, Beijing. Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares/EPA

A Beijing city official has issued a rare public acknowledgment of official failings in the authorities’ response to the severe flooding that hit China’s capital this week.

Yu Weiguo, a Communist party secretary for Miyun, the northern district worst affected by this week’s extreme weather, said in a press conference on Thursday that there were “gaps” in the city’s readiness for the deadly floods.