Shanghai, China - Beijing was forced to admit they'd made mistakes in planning after a major typhoon slammed China's east coast, killing dozens and triggering the evacuation of nearly 300,000 from Shanghai.

Officials in Beijing said on Wednesday that they had not prepared for the heavy rains that have soaked swathes of the capital, killing 44 people.

"As of midday on July 31, some 44 people have died and nine are still missing as a result of the disasters across the whole of Beijing," top city official Xia Linmao told a news conference.

"On behalf of the municipal party committee and the city government, I would like to express deep mourning for those who have regrettably lost their lives, and profound condolences to their relatives," Xia said.

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"Our ability to forecast and warn of extreme weather is insufficient, and disaster prevention and mitigation plans have not been fully developed."

Large parts of northern and eastern China have endured deadly rains and floods spurred on by tropical cyclone Co-May, which made landfall in Shanghai at 4:40 PM local time (4:40 AM ET) on Wednesday.

While tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated across China, some of the most dramatic scenes were in Shanghai, where more than 280,000 residents were evacuated.

Cyclone Co-May and tsunami warnings sparked by an earthquake in Russia shortly after triggered not only mass evacuations but also the shutting down of flights and ferry services and strict speed limits on roads.

Yu Weiguo, a senior Communist Party official in the Miyun district north of Beijing, admitted that there had been "gaps" in readiness.

"Our knowledge of extreme weather was lacking," he said. "This tragic lesson has warned us that putting the people first, putting human life first, is more than a slogan."