BEIJING, Aug 17 — At least eight people have died in a flash flood in northern China, state media reported today, with four others still missing, as the East Asian monsoon continues to unleash atmospheric chaos across the world’s second-largest economy.

The banks of a river running through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia burst at around 9pm (1400 GMT) yesterday, the report said, washing away 13 campers on the outskirts of Bayannur city, a major agricultural hub. One person has been rescued.

China has suffered weeks of extreme weather since July, battered by heavier-than-usual downpours with the monsoon stalling over its north and south.

Weather experts link the shifting pattern to climate change, testing officials as flash floods displace thousands and threaten billions of dollars in economic losses.

Bayannur is an important national grain and oil production base, as well as a sheep breeding and processing centre.

At the other end of the country, a three-and-a-half-month fishing suspension in the southern province of Hainan ended on Saturday, state media reported, after agricultural affairs officials ordered ships to shelter in port owing to persistent, heavy rain.

The deluge in Inner Mongolia follows a deadly downpour in Beijing - just under 1,000 kilometres away - late last month which killed at least 44 people and forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 residents.

The central government announced last week 430 million yuan (RM252.3 million) in fresh funding for disaster relief, taking the total allocated since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan. — Reuters