BEIJING — Beijing city officials admitted today they had not been prepared for heavy rains that soaked swathes of the capital, killing 44 people and leaving nine still missing.

Parts of northern China endured deadly rains and floods since last week that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands.

The capital’s rural suburbs were hardest hit, officials said, raising the toll from the previously reported 30 announced on Tuesday.

“As of midday on July 31, some 44 people have died and nine are still missing as a result of the disasters across the whole of Beijing,” top city official Xia Linmao told a news conference.

“Between July 23 and 29, Beijing suffered extreme rainfall,” he said, adding they had caused “significant casualties and (other) losses”.

Out of those deaths, 31 took place at an “elderly care centre” in the town of Taishitun in the northeast of the city, Xia said.

Among those still missing are local officials working on search and rescue, he added.