South Koreans walk through a flooded road as they are evacuated from their village that is submerged by torrential rain in Seoul July 16, 2006. South Korea issued a national crisis warning on Sunday as torrential rain caused flooding in parts of the country, killing 10 people and leaving 17 missing and presumed dead.
The news last night was appalling. Seoul was a disaster area as the floodwaters rose, and caused damage to roads and whole areas of trees had fallen across the roads. There were images of cars and Buses that had simple sunk into the mud, and houses and streets were covered in water.
http://chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-07/16/content_641844.htm
China is also suffering from the Typhoon and there are now calls for Disaster Assistance for the flood damaged areas of China, as well as North Korea.
Torrential rainstorms and flooding unleashed by Typhoon Bilis killed at least 115 people across southeast China, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
It said 43 people died in Fujian province, 39 in Hunan and 33 in Guangdong as swirling waters swept away homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
Local rescue teams, backed by the army, moved in to scoop families to safety. One baby was floated over the floods in a plastic basin and into the arms of waiting soldiers.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/emergency/CN_FLO.htm
I watched the Television in horror as a very wet reporter stood in torrential rain describing the horrors of the rushing flood waters behind her.This would also be disastrous for the rich rice crop and market gardens that a week ago were growing strong and well.
Right now North Korea is starving and the South rejected their request for rice to help, over the Missile incident, and now both North and South are hit by this devastating typhoon and rains. It is going to lead to even more disaster as now the South is also faced with damaged food crops, as well as having to rebuild and find homes for all the flood victims.
Maybe it is time for the people to work together through this awful disaster that has happened. We sit in our safe homes watching on TV how waters wash away livelihoods, and feel sad for those who are now devastated knowing they have lost everything.
I somehow feel of all the Disasters, floods are the worst...there is such an ugly aftermath and there is such a devastation to those least able to manage the loss...the poor people.
Please support the Red Cross and Church Organisations who right now are working hard to help those who have been hit by this new disaster...not only in Korea, but also all over Asia and the World.
http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html
The churches are also active right now helping flood victims.