RESIDENTS EVACUATE AMID CONTINUED RAIN

[Anchor Lead]

A sudden evacuation order due to continued torrential rain forced residents of Paju and Yeoncheon areas to spend an anxious night at the shelters.

[Pkg]

A little after midnight, an emergency evacuation order is issued for the low-lying areas in the city of Paju.

[Soundbite] "Due to flooding concerns, residents of low-lying areas should follow the evacuation orders."

As a sudden evacuation order was issued late at night, residents hurriedly check on one another.

[Soundbite] KIM MI-SUK(PAJU MUNSAN VILLAGE CHIEF) : "Ma'am! Ma'am! Has she evacuated? Do you have her phone number?"

Shopkeepers and merchants pack up to leave in a hurry. The evacuation order was issued for the low-lying areas of Munsan, Jeokseong and Papyeong in Paju. Those locations all border the main stream or branch of the Imjingang River. Residents moved to the shelters set up at nearby schools and churches. Concerns mount as these areas were devastated when the Imjingang River overflowed in the past.

[Soundbite] KIM YEONG-SUN(PAJU RESIDENT) : "We were told to evacuate quickly. I still tear up when I think about that time. It's still traumatic for me."

Residents of Yeoncheon-gun County, located a little farther north of Paju, were also ordered to evacuate last evening.

[Soundbite] CHOI JONG-BEOM(YEONCHEON-GUN RESIDENT) : "My wife fled with nothing but two bankbooks. We can't return to the village yet."

Six villages in Yeoncheon-gun County were ordered to evacuate. All are lowlands near the Imjingang River. The water level at Biryong Bridge, used to determine the flooding possibility of the Imjingang River, is nearing the "serious" level, which is equal to a major flood warning. Some 6,000 people have been evacuated so far from Yeoncheon-gun County and Paju City.