Americans Die In S. Korea Floods

Strong rains over central South Korea on Sunday caused new flooding and mudslides that left seven dead, including another American soldier.

At Suwon air base south of Seoul, a U.S. Army soldier was killed after apparently falling into a flooded ditch while walking with three other individuals shortly after midnight, the U.S. military command said in a news release.

Two U.S. Army soldiers died Saturday after being buried under mud at their camp south of Seoul. Twelve others were injured, 10 of them hospitalized, said Col. Carl Kropf, a military spokesman. He declined to give names pending notification of relatives.

The soldiers were with the 304th Signal Battalion of the 8th Army's 1st Signal Brigade, Kropf said.

Sunday's deaths brought to 165 the number of people killed by a storm front that swept in from China seven days ago and wreaked havoc in South Korea. Some 69 people are missing and presumed dead.

Man struggles with bicycle in China floods.

Officials in China's Hubei province destroyed some secondary dikes along the Yangtze River on Sunday to try to avert killer floods threatening seven million people in the provincial capital Wuhan, state media reported.

Officials earlier estimated that 212 people had died, but that figure included people who are still listed as missing.

Many of the thousands forced to flee their homes Saturday had evacuated them in the face of floods Thursday. Only hours after their return on Friday, they again had to seek higher ground because of torrential overnight rains.

At least two Han River tributaries overflowed, submerging 30,000 homes in and around Seoul, disaster officials said.

About 1,000 U.S. soldiers were evacuated from several small camps near the border with communist North Korea, said Sgt. Major Billy Foster of the 2nd Infantry Division.

The deluge wrecked entire villages. Streams were clotted with overturned cars. Alleys were piled with sodden furniture pulled from homes knee deep in water.

By SANG-HUN CHOE