Pyongyang [China], July 30 : Around 5,000 people were rescued from flood-hit areas along North Korea's border with China over the weekend in efforts supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, CNN reported, citing the country's state media.
The North Korean army launched emergency operations in North Pyongyang province as the region reeled from flooding in the wake of heavy rains that left 5,000 people "isolated" and at risk, according to state media KCNA.
Water levels at the Amnok River, or Yalu River in Chinese, which forms part of the border between North Korea and China, had "far exceeded the danger line" due to record rains Saturday, KCNA reported, noting Kim's assessment that flooding was "very serious" in Sinuiju City, which faces the Chinese city of Dandong.
Kim was pictured in images published by state media striding, windswept through an air base handling rescue, and riding in an SUV through flood waters.
The leader making an appearance at the spot underscores the significance of the floods - and his desire to be seen at the fore of response to what he called "disastrous abnormal weather."
This comes as governments across Asia are grappling with devastation and economic loss caused by extreme weather. According to scientists, such incidents are happening more frequently due to human-driven climate change.
Heavy rains and flooding hit wide swaths of Asia in recent days as a major storm system swept through the region.
Typhoon Gaemi contributed to major flooding in parts of the Philippines, followed by Taiwan last week before the storm made landfall in China's Fujian Province Thursday evening local time and later downgraded in intensity.
In the wake of this, parts of coastal and central China saw substantial flooding in recent days, with heavy rains moving north over the weekend, extending what has already been a devastating period of extreme weather across the country, where the typical flooding season began two months early.
At least 15 people died following a rain-triggered landslide in central China's Hunan Province, CNN reported citing Chinese state media Xinhua.
China's northeast - a key food-growing region that traditionally had been less affected by frequent flooding - is also grappling with heavy rains.
In China's Liaoning province, across the border from North Korea's North Pyongyang, more than 45,000 people were evacuated from their homes as of Sunday morning as heavy rains hit the region, according to Xinhua.
Hundreds of chemical enterprises and mining companies across the province also suspended operations over the weekend and relocated to avoid flood risks, Xinhua reported.
According to China's weather authority, the Southwest Liaoning region remains under an orange rainstorm alert for heavy to torrential rain until Tuesday afternoon.
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