At least one person was killed and 34 missing as torrential rain pounded northern China, state media reported Wednesday.

Heavy downpours struck Hebei province which surrounds Beijing, causing all major rivers to breach their banks and damaging 11 dams and two hydropower stations, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearly 68,000 residents had been relocated as the provincial land resources bureau warned of flooding, landslides and mountain torrents, it said.

Weather authorities in the province have issued their highest, or red, alert for rainstorms, the agency added.

Beijing was also hit by the rainfall, with some roads submerged by water more than two metres (6ft, 6ins) deep, traffic delayed and some subway stations reporting leaks, the city's newspapers said.

Torrential rain has already wreaked havoc in southern China this year, causing floods in several major cities including Wuhan in the central province of Hubei.

Northern China is normally arid but flooding is not rare during the summer monsoon season.

In the summer of 2012 Beijing was lashed by the worst rains to hit the capital for more than 60 years and around 80 people were killed.