Four die and many flee as floods hit port city

Rain continued falling yesterday in the region, which borders North Korea, but the official Xinhua News Agency reported water levels along the Yalu and its tributaries had dropped below flood warning levels.

Xinhua said four people died, including a couple in their 70s and a mother and son, after their homes were swept away.

Dandong is in Liaoning province and an official of the provincial Water Resources Department confirmed four people had died.

Meanwhile, the world has given or pledged more than 515m to help Pakistan cope with massive floods, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said yesterday, as a surging river in the south led authorities to urge thousands more people to evacuate.

The flood which began last month have hit about one-fifth of Pakistan's territory, straining the civilian government as it also struggles against al-Qaida and Taliban violence.