Beijing: Swelled by torrential rains, the Yalu river that marks the Chinese-North Korean border breached its banks on both sides on Saturday, inundating communities and forcing the evacuation of more than 50,000 people in China.
Flood waters punctured a dike between the river and an economic development zone in a low-lying part of the Chinese port city of Dandong, Chinese state media reported.
The rain and flooding cut rail service out of the city, destroyed more than 200 houses and left at least three people missing, in addition to the 51,000 evacuated to higher ground, officials said.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that floodwater swamped houses, public buildings and farmland in more than five villages near Sinuiju, the city opposite Dandong.
The brief report described Sinuiju and the surrounding area as having been "severely affected" by the flooding and said officials, the military and ordinary civilians were involved in rescue work.
Much of North Korea's trade with the world passes through Sinuiju, forming a vital lifeline for the isolated, economically struggling country.
Flooding in previous years has destroyed crops and pushed North Korea deeper into poverty, increasing its dependence on international food aid.
Rescuers on Saturday continued to search for more than 80 people missing since a hillside crashed through Puladi township in Yunnan province and killed 12 people, the province's civil affairs department said.
The government's Central Weather Bureau issued an advisory on Saturday warning that heavy rains would strike much of the country through the weekend.
