Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities.
ADVERTISEMENTChina's capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days.
The city recorded 744.8 millimetres of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said on Wednesday.
The record rainfall comes as northern China has been deluged with heavy downpours as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri moved north after previously hitting southern Chinese provinces.
Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have been hit by severe flooding, with waters rising to dangerous levels. The rains destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water.
Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that borders Beijing's southwest. It's not clear how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the city and surrounding villages.
On Wednesday, waters in Gu'an county in Hebei, which borders Zhuozhou, reached as high as halfway up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed.
Chinese authorities said Tuesday at least 20 people had died from the torrential rains around Beijing while 27 people have been reported missing.
The previous record for rainfall was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said, when the city saw 609 millimetres of rain. The earliest precise recordings made by machines are from 1883.