Rumors swirl over flooding death toll in Beijing

Beijing residents fed up with a lack of official updates are compiling their own death tolls for last weekend's deadly floods in the capital, while a forecast for more rain has prompted many people to snap up survival equipment.

The moves reflect public anger and mistrust of the city government, which has not updated its death toll since Sunday, the day after a record downpour overwhelmed drainage systems, leaving underpasses flooded downtown and flash floods roiling through the city's outskirts.

Beijing says 37 people were killed, but state media reports Thursday said the toll could be as high as 61 and online rumors put it in the hundreds.

Some residents of the worst-affected Fangshan district were compiling their own death toll online.