More flooding is expected to hit the Yalu River basin in the next few days, with a fresh flood warning for the region having been issued by the Chinese authorities.
The flood warning was issued on Sunday after the authorities concluded that the heavy rain which started on the 26th in Dandong, across the Yalu from Shinuiju, would continue through the 30th.
Previous summer rains have done some serious damage to Dandong. Four people disappeared, around 50,000 people were evacuated, approximately 230 houses were submerged and a number of farms were flooded after heavy rains on and around August 19th. Then, on the 26th and 27th there was a further 78mm of rain in which there was one disappearance and the evacuation of 26,555 residents from four districts of the city.
Shinuiju, which is less well-protected than Dandong due to a lack of government investment in flood defenses and drainage facilities, is likely to have suffered even worse consequences.
The North Korean government has not given an accurate account of the flood damage in has incurred, but according to a report from the International Red Cross, the heavy rains which hit Dandong on the 19th also brought 64,000 flood victims in the Shinuiju region, including 14 deaths and 15,000 houses lost. The report on the situation after the heavy rains on the 26th and 27th has not been released.
