Torrential rains triggered landslides and floods that have killed 70 people in southern China, and South Korea mobilized troops yesterday to help cope with further downpours, as the approach of the El Nino weather pattern threatened to bring more severe conditions across Asia.
But an official from Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau yesterday said that El Nino is unlikely to have serious effects on the nation this year.
The floods in China's Hunan Province were concentrated in the rice-growing southern region, about 500km north of Hong Kong, and were the worst since 1998, the China Daily quoted a provincial official as saying.
PHOTO: REUTERS
So far this year, around 900 people in China have been killed in seasonal floods.
In South Korea the death toll has hit 14 after a week of deluges dumped two-fifths of the average annual rainfall on the country, triggering flash floods and landslides.
Yesterday, four people were killed and seven injured in the southern port city of Pusan after a landslide engulfed a four-storey building housing 250 disabled people.
The presidential Blue House said South Korea had mobilized 32,000 soldiers and 460 units with rescue gear to reduce damage, as forecasters said more rain was expected over the weekend.
North Korea has also reported torrential rains that caused casualties and destroyed crops in the food-short communist state.
Europe has also been hit with unseasonal weather. The death toll from rainstorms and floods rose to 30 on Friday with scores missing and thousands stranded. Flooding in southern Russia has accounted for most of the victims.
El Nino, the global weather phenomenon blamed for a deadly drought in Southeast Asia five years ago, is back with a vengeance in Australia and is threatening other countries, Australian scientists say.
An existing drought in the region was made worse by the recurring weather condition, which authorities say set in last month as Pacific sea temperatures warmed.
The 2002-2003 wheat crop forecast in Australia -- bread-basket for Asia and much of the Middle East -- has shrunk to 17 million tonnes from March estimates of 24 million tonnes.
The crop losses -- worth more than A$1.5 billion (US$795 million) in export revenue -- are equivalent to the amount the island continent normally exports to Asia in a full year.
Southeast Asia, meanwhile, is bracing for deepening drought as scientists warn Papua New Guinea and more heavily populated parts of the region are now coming into El Nino's sights.
Scientists surveyed across Asia agreed that while this year's El Nino appeared weak, it had formed on top of drought conditions in various areas stretching from India to eastern Australia.
India is suffering from an erratic monsoon, the lifeblood of its economy.
Over 700 people have died because of floods, disease and landslides and millions have been left homeless in eastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh since mid-July when heavy monsoon rains began, as health officials battle the spread of disease.
However, much of the rest of India is coping with the worst drought in a decade.
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