More than 120,000 people have been evacuated in northeast China following serious floods that have already left four dead and forced the relocation of thousands in neighboring North Korea.
Heavy summer downpours have dangerously swollen the Yalu river, which forms the border between the two countries, and forecasters are warning of yet more torrential rain to come.
China’s civil affairs ministry said late on Saturday that 127,000 people had been evacuated in Liaoning Province in just three days because of the rains, as the nation struggles with its worst floods in a decade.
PHOTO: EPA
In Dandong city alone, which borders North Korea, more than 94,000 residents were evacuated and some power and transport links were cut off, Xinhua news agency reported.
A couple in their 70s and a mother and son died in Kuandian county, around 100km northeast of Dandong, when flash floods swept away their homes, Xinhua said, citing a local flood control official.
A 60-year-old man was also missing in Kuandian after his house collapsed in a rain-triggered landslide.
The state-run Beijing Times reported that the floods in Dandong are the second most serious since 1949. Photos showed people being airlifted from damaged rooftops by helicopters as grey water swirled around buildings.
China’s national meteorological center warned yesterday that new downpours were expected in parts of Liaoning, including Dandong, for another 24 hours at least.
In North Korea, more than 5,000 people have been moved to safety after parts of Sinuiju city and rural communities near the border were “completely inundated,” the official Korean Central news agency said.
Traffic in downtown Sinuiju was “paralyzed” and flood victims were stranded on rooftops and on hills, prompting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to order an emergency military rescue operation, it added.
North Korea has been hit by widespread flooding this summer, which has washed away homes, roads, railways and farmland, causing an unspecified number of deaths, state media reports from Pyongyang showed.
After decades of deforestation, North Korea is particularly vulnerable to flooding. In 2007, it reported at least 600 people dead or missing from devastating floods.
Nearly 3,900 Chinese have been killed or left missing this year in flood-related incidents, official figures show.
In Yunnan Province, rescuers are searching for 69 people who went missing in rain-triggered mudslides in a remote, mountainous area. Twenty-three people have been confirmed dead, Xinhua said.
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