Over 50,000 evacuated as floods hit northeast China

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - More than 50,000 people have so far been evacuated from a city in northeastern China after flooding from a rain-swollen river that also borders North Korea, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday.

Homes and roads in Dandong city have been submerged under the water after the Yalu River, which runs between China and North Korea, broke its banks, Xinhua reported.

Heavy rain began pounding the area from early Friday cutting off some power and communication lines.

China's National Meteorological Center also warned on Saturday that torrential rains will hit China's northeastern, central and southwestern regions in the next 24 hours.

On Tuesday, China's state media reported that heavy rains in western China have killed at least another 51 people, adding to the more than 2,000 people who have died in flooding and landslides nationwide so far this year.

The Yalu is one of two main rivers dividing China from diplomatically isolated North Korea.

The reclusive state had yet to announce details of damage caused by the recent rains, although a report from the official KCNA news agency said parts of the country had been struck by record rainfall.

(Reporting by Melanie Lee, editing by Miral Fahmy)