Beijing officials say 31 older people trapped in a senior center died in floods

BANGKOK — A group of elderly people trapped in a flooded nursing home were among at least 70 people who died during powerful storms that lashed Beijing and neighboring provinces

BANGKOK — A group of elderly people trapped in a flooded nursing home were among at least 70 people who died during powerful storms that lashed Beijing and neighboring provinces.

Officials said Thursday 31 people died at the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center when Beijing’s Miyun district became one of the hardest hit areas by storms that dumped nearly a year’s worth of rain in the area over a few days. Flood waters surged in the area Monday and many were caught unprepared.

Officials offered a rare public apology Thursday when they announced the deaths.

“For a long time, this senior center was in the town’s center and was safe, and such was not included in the preparedness plans. This means that our prepared plans had holes,” Miyun Party secretary Yu Weiguo said, expressing his condolences and adding it was a “bitter lesson.”

The care center housed 69 residents, including 55 who were disabled in some capacity. The facility sat on low-lying ground near a river that had flooded after the unusually intense rains, local media outlet Caixin reported. When the floods hit Monday, there were 77 people in the building including staffers.