Torrential Rains Kill 42 in Korea

The Boston Globe By Associated Press, Aug. 6, 1999

SEOUL - North Korean border guards pulled the bodies of three soldiers from a flood-swollen stream in the demilitarized zone yesterday, after torrential rains that aid workers said have killed 42 North Koreans.

The first specific reports of casualties in North Korea emerged as other Asian nations began to assess the loss of life and property from monsoon rains, flooding and landslides over the past week.

In the Philippines, rescuers pulled more bodies out of the wreckage of a hillside housing project that collapsed Tuesday. So far, 26 people are confirmed dead from the landslide, and at least 71 have died in the country after four days of rain.

In China, at least 725 people have been killed and more than 5.5 million people evacuated in flooding throughout the summer, the official news agency Xinhua said. Still, the number was far lower than last year's 4,150 flood deaths.

The Red Cross said rains in North Korea were worst near the western part of the border with South Korea, where 29 inches of rain fell between Saturday and Tuesday.

In that area, nearly 3,000 people were left homeless as floodwaters left villages underwater, swept down telephone poles and inundated fields, the Red Cross said. In one village, mudslides buried 19 homes, killing 14 people and leaving one missing.

At least 94 North Koreans were badly injured, and the death toll is expected to rise, the Red Cross said.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said the three dead soldiers washed up in a flood-swollen stream inside the 21/2-mile-wide demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea.

The North Korean government has not released figures on casualties from the rain. But it says rains damaged crops in the southwest. The nation is already in its fifth year of acute food shortages caused by floods and economic mismanagement.

At least 40 South Koreans died in the torrential rains.

In Vietnam, the death toll from flooding reached 28. An inmate who swam from a prison garden to a nearby house that had been inundated by floodwaters was being credited with saving the lives of 11 people.

A new onslaught of rain hit eastern Thailand yesterday, raising fears of new flash floods. At least five people were killed and 1,000 people were left homeless in flooding this week.

At the Antipolo housing project outside the Philippines capital, rescuers used heavy equipment to clear debris. Hopes were fading for up to 40 people thought to be trapped in the collapsed houses.

This story ran on page A20 of the Boston Globe on 08/06/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

42 North Koreans Dead in Flooding
By The Associated Press, Aug. 5, 1999

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean border guards pulled the bodies of three soldiers from a flood-swollen stream in the demilitarized zone on Thursday, after torrential rains that aid workers said have killed 42 people in the communist nation.

The first specific reports of casualties in North Korea emerged as South Korea and other Asian nations began to assess the loss of life and property due to monsoon rains, flooding and landslides over the past week.

In the Philippines, rescuers pulled more bodies out of the wreckage of a hillside housing project that collapsed Tuesday. So far, 26 people are confirmed dead from the landslide and at least 71 people have died in the country after four days of rain.

In China, at least 725 people have been killed and more than 5.5 million people evacuated in flooding throughout the summer, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Still, the number was far lower than last year's 4,150 flood deaths.

The Red Cross said rains in North Korea hit hardest in areas near the western part of the border with South Korea, where 29 inches of rain fell between Saturday and Tuesday.

In that area, nearly 3,000 people were left homeless as floodwaters left whole villages underwater, swept down telephone poles and inundated fields, the group said. In one village, mud landslides buried 19 homes, killing 14 people and leaving one missing.

At least 94 people around the area were badly injured, and the death toll was expected to rise, the Red Cross said.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said the three dead soldiers washed up in a flood-swollen stream inside the 2 1/2-mile-wide demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea.

The North Korean government has not released any figures on casualties from the rain. But it says rains damaged crops in the southwest. The reclusive nation is already in its fifth year of acute food shortages caused by floods and economic mismanagement.

On the South Korean side of the buffer zone, soldiers searched for ammunition lost in the storms. In one area, fishermen found a wooden box filled with dozens of grenades. As flooding receded, residents returned to their mud-caked homes.

At least 40 South Koreans died in the torrential rains.

In Vietnam, the death toll from flooding reached 28. An inmate who swam from a prison garden to a nearby house that had been inundated by floodwaters was being credited with saving the lives of 11 people.

A fresh onslaught of rain hit eastern Thailand on Thursday, raising fears of new flash floods. At least five people died and 1,000 people were left homeless in flooding earlier this week.
In southern Cambodia, the bodies of two children killed in flooding Tuesday were found, officials said.

At the Antipolo housing project outside the Philippines capital, rescuers used heavy equipment to clear debris. Hopes were fading for up to 40 people thought to be trapped in the collapsed houses. The housing developer, Philjas Corp., a Filipino-Japanese joint venture, apologized for the tragedy.

``I would like to express my heartfelt sorriness and condolences to all the victims of the incident,'' general manager Hiroshi Ogawa said. Antipolo city administrator Gilbert Lauengco said most residents had ignored warnings by police and local officials to evacuate after cracks began appearing in houses and streets earlier in the day.

Deadly rainstorms hit Asia
The Boston Globe, By Associated Press, Aug. 4, 1999

PAJU, South Korea - A powerful storm raced along South Korea's west coast yesterday, dumping rain on the already battered country, where at least 63 people were killed or missing in floods, landslides, and rain-related accidents.

The tropical storm hit land in North Korea and headed for the capital and agricultural centers in the southwest of the famine-stricken country, where officials said crops were already damaged by torrential rains over the weekend.

In the Philippines, heavy rains lashing Manila toppled houses from a hillside, burying scores of people and raising to 34 the death toll in one of the nation's worst floods in years, officials said today.

They said at least eight people were killed and dozens missing after a large section of a housing estate in Manila caved in last night. Twenty-eight were injured.

In South Korea, vast fields and residential areas remained submerged under yellow flood waters.
In one accident, a tour bus plunged into a river after skidding off a rain-slick road in Choonchon City, 93 miles northeast of Seoul, killing five people and injuring 30.

Rain-swollen rivers overflowed, breaking dikes, sweeping away roads, homes, vehicles, and telephone poles, and triggering deadly landslides, including one that killed 10 vacationers.
In all, 35 people were killed and 28 others missing and presumed dead. About 8,500 homes were submerged in the flooding.