China, over 50 thousand evacuated in Dandong floods
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - More than 50 thousand people were evacuated and three are missing from the city of Dandong, Liaoning, after flooding along the Yalu River, bordering North Korea.
According to Xinhua, 230 houses collapsed, communications and electricity lines are down. A flood control official in Dandong refused to confirm the number of people evacuated, but insists that the incident "is not serious" because the city's population is 2.4 million.
Incessant rain has been falling over the city since yesterday morning. Attempts by citizens to create a cordon of sandbags to contain the river, are not enough.
The heavy summer rains of 2010 have caused the worst floods in China in recent 10 years. In 2010, some 3900 people have been killed or are missing because of floods, 12 million displaced. The most serious situation is in Zhouqu (Gansu), north-west China, where 1750 people died in an avalanche of mud that has buried three villages.
18/08/2010