Floods Force N. Korea, China to Evacuate Thousands

Displaced 'at the crossroads of life and death'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2010 9:58 AM CDT

Torrential rain has flooded the Yalu River that lies along the China/North Korea border, forcing thousands to evacuate, the LA Times reports. In North Korea, Kim Jong-Il deployed air force and navy units to aid in the evacuation of roughly 5,000 people, as flash-floods submerged houses, farms, and roads. State-run media described the displaced as “at the crossroads of life and death.”

In China, authorities report that 253,000 have been evacuated, as flood waters pour into dozens of towns. Four people have died in the rising water, and more than 100 have been rescued by helicopter. The flooding “in North Korea is really, really bad,” said one receptionist for a hotel on the Chinese side of the border. “It is the worst flood for the past 50 years.” (More flash floods stories.)

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