Beijing sees power reshuffle amid flood scandal

In this photo taken on Monday, July 23, 2012, Chinese villager look at courtyard damaged by flood at their home in Fangshan district in Beijing. Recent heavy rains across much of China have left nearly 100 people dead, state media said Tuesday. AP

BEIJING — The People’s Daily newspaper says Beijing’s mayor and a vice mayor have resigned in what is likely a routine reshuffling but which comes amid public questioning of the government’s handling of rainstorms that left at least 37 dead in the capital.

Outgoing Mayor Guo Jinlong had already been tapped for a promotion to the city’s top position as Communist Party secretary, so his resignation, announced Wednesday, was not unexpected. One of his vice mayors, Ji Lin, also resigned and is expected to get a new post.

Local officials in a district hit hardest by Saturday’s record rainfall have suggested the death toll could climb higher.

The massive flooding is a major embarrassment for China’s capital, which spent billions of dollars modernizing the city while apparently neglecting its drainage systems.