BEIJING — At least 154 people died and 124 are still missing after several days of heavy rains touched off floods and landslides in China, officials said Saturday. And meteorologists warned that more thunderstorms were expected.

In northern China, the worst-hit area was Hebei province, which encircles the capital, Beijing.

At least 114 people died there, the provincial branch of the Ministry of Civil Affairs told the official New China News Agency on Saturday.

Authorities put the number of affected people in Hebei at more than 9 million, with nearly 300,000 evacuated.

In the city of Xingtai, about 200 miles southwest of Beijing, at least 25 people were dead, and 13 were missing after the Qili River overflowed its banks early hours Wednesday, flooding homes as people slept.

Some residents suggested the disaster in Xingtai might have been man-made, resulting from the release of floodwaters from a nearby reservoir.

On Saturday evening, the mayor of Xingtai, Dong Xiaoyu, held a news conference and apologized for the failure of city officials to adequately protect residents from the floods.

The vice mayor of Xingtai said last week's downpours were the heaviest since August 1996, and that between Tuesday afternoon and midnight, nearly 60 percent of the typical annual rainfall had inundated the area.

Other deaths were reported in central and southern China.

Across the country, army troops were dispatched to rescue people stranded in flooded areas and deliver emergency aid via helicopter.

The flooding has inundated farmlands, wiping out $2.4 billion worth of crops, the news agency said.

Turkey defends security tactics, crackdown after failed coup

ISTANBUL — In a new tactic against suspected coup plotters, Turkey on Saturday announced it had seized over 2,250 social, educational or health care institutions and facilities that it claims pose a threat to national security.

The health ministry said patients at hospitals that are being seized will be transferred to state hospitals, highlighting the sweeping impact of the government's crackdown after a failed July 15 coup attempt.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized concerns that the purges, which have left at least 10,000 people in jail and about 50,000 fired or suspended, could jeopardize basic freedoms.

Erdogan told France 24 on Saturday that Turkey has no choice but to impose stringent measures after the attempted coup that killed 290 and was put down by loyalist forces and protesters.

Tip leads Detroit-area officers to seize guns, rifles from home

CENTER LINE, Mich. — Police seized a dozen rifles and six handguns from the home of a suburban Detroit man after a witness reported the man said he wanted to kill police officers, authorities said Saturday.

The man made the threat during a mental health discussion and has been committed to a mental health facility, said Warren police Commissioner Jere Green.

“He commented during a session that he wanted to kill a bunch of police officers,” Green said. “The third party then reported it to police.”

The house in Center Line, north of Detroit, was searched Friday. Warren officers pulled over the man's vehicle. The man hasn't been charged.

“The threat against police officers is very real,” said Detroit police Chief James Craig.

Mourners pay tribute to pair slain in line of duty in Kan., La.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday to honor a police captain shot to death on duty.

Kansas City police Capt. Robert Melton, 46, was fatally shot Tuesday by a suspect fleeing law enforcement.

Officers from several nearby states paid tribute to Melton, and military veterans holding U.S. flags lined a street near the park to honor the 17-year veteran of the police force, who also served in the Army National Guard.

Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge, La., hundreds paid their respects to the family of Deputy Brad Garafola, 45, who was killed by a gunman six days earlier.

Garafola was laid to rest one day after the funeral for Officer Matthew Gerald, 41. Funeral services for the third officer slain, Montrell Jackson, 32, are scheduled for Monday.

S. Sudan opposition says leader in hiding replaced

JUBA, South Sudan — A faction of South Sudan's armed opposition said Saturday it had replaced its absent leader who is also the country's first vice president, a move that could lead to further turmoil following deadly clashes in the capital this month.

Riek Machar, who led a rebellion against President Salva Kiir in December 2013 but signed a peace deal last year, is being replaced as Kiir's deputy with Taban Deng, who acted as the rebels' chief negotiator during peace talks, said Machar's top aide, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth.

Taban will serve until Machar returns to the capital, Gatkuoth said.

Machar fled Juba this month after Kiir's forces bombed his house during clashes that killed hundreds. Kiir had set a deadline for him to return to Juba by Saturday afternoon.

‘Rolling wake': Woman drives with husband's body in casket

KETCHIKAN, Alaska — An Alaska woman who drove her husband's body on a days-long traveling wake and used ice from local canneries to keep him cold is not accused of breaking any laws.

Officers responded to a call last week to find the body of a 78-year-old man inside an aluminum transport casket.

Ketchikan police Chief Alan Bengaard told the Ketchikan Daily News that the woman stopped at several canneries for ice to put in the truck bed during the “rolling wake.”

The man had died of natural causes.

A mortuary took custody of the body after the authorities were called, and the family can make further arrangements.

Bengaard said hopefully the woman won't take her husband back out on the road, but that he wasn't aware of any laws she had broken.

World record: A cold and exhausted 65-year-old Russian balloonist came back to Earth with a bruising thud in the Australian Outback on Saturday after claiming a new record by flying solo around the world nonstop in 11 days, officials said. Fedor Konyukhov landed 100 miles east of Northam, where he started his journey July 12.

Up-and-down problem: The Washington Monument will be closed until at least Tuesday because of elevator problems. The National Park Service said a mechanical failure occurred before the monument opened Saturday morning. The park service said the date of reopening will depend on the availability of parts.