More than 5,000 moved as floods hit North Korea

SEOUL, Sunday

More than 5,000 people have been moved from a North Korean city bordering China following floods from a swollen river.

More than 94,000 people also left the affected areas in China.

North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said many parts of northwestern Shinuiju city had been submerged after the river that forms the border between North Korea and China overflowed due to more than 300mm of rain falling between midnight and 9am on Saturday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sent military units to rescue residents of the northwestern area and at least 5,150 flood victims were evacuated by the air force and navy, KCNA said.

In China’s Dandong area flooding from the swollen river, called the Yalu in Chinese and the Amnok in Korean, killed four people and flooded 44 townships, bringing power blackouts and disruption to communications, Chinese state media said.

Weather stations forecast on Sunday morning 250 mm of rain would pelt the Chinese city over the next 24 hours.

Massive flooding in recent years has left hundreds of people dead or missing, swept away buildings and inundated several farms, prompting reclusive North Korea to seek foreign food aid.

Lack of infrastructure in most areas outside the capital Pyongyang makes arable land and residential districts of North Korea vulnerable to water damage.

Aid groups have said the North suffers chronic shortfalls of food, with traditional key donor countries such as South Korea and the United States having cut contributions in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile tests.—Reuters