China has evacuated 253,500 residents in the northeastern province of Liaoning as heavy rain caused the Yalu River on the border with North Korea to flood, killing four and leaving another person missing in the city of Dandong.
The overflowing Yalu has caused the second-most severe flood in northeastern China since 1949, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday, citing local relief headquarters. Flood water destroyed 3,000 houses and damaged 5,000 other buildings in five cities in Liaoning, the ministry of civil affairs said.
North Korea said its northwestern border city of Sinuiju suffered "immense" damage. Kim Jong Il, the country's leader, ordered military units to help rescue efforts in Sinuiju, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
In Liaoning's Dandong city, flood affected 202,000 people and 195 industrial and mining companies have halted operations, Xinhua said yesterday. The city has only limited water supply in most districts and some water is not drinkable, the China News Service reported the same day. Some communication links were cut off in the city of more than 2.4 million people, it said.
China's flood control authority sent a team to Liaoning on August 21st and called for more efforts to cope with the rain, prevent landslides and ensure the safety of reservoirs, according to a statement on the website of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Authorities are using helicopters and speedboats to rescue people trapped by the flood, according to Xinhua. In North Korea, more than 5,150 people were rescued by dozens of military aircraft and boats.
Bloomberg