At least ten people have died in a flash flood in northern China, state media reported on Sunday, with two others still missing, as the East Asian monsoon continues to unleash atmospheric chaos across the country.

The banks of a river running through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia burst at around 10pm on Saturday, the report said, washing away 13 campers on the outskirts of Bayannur city, a major agricultural hub. One person has been rescued.

Bayannur is an important national grain and oil production base, as well as a sheep breeding and processing centre.

China has suffered weeks of extreme weather since July, battered by heavier-than-usual downpours with the monsoon stalling over its north and south.

Weather experts link the shifting pattern to climate change, testing officials as flash floods displace thousands and threaten billions of dollars in economic losses.

In the southwestern province of Sichuan, severe weather on Friday killed two people and injured three others at a beer festival in the city of Mianzhu.

Late last month, a deadly downpour in Beijing killed at least 44 people and forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 residents.

The central government announced last week 430 million yuan in fresh funding for disaster relief, taking the total allocated since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan. (Reuters)