Floods kill dozens in North Asia

Mudslides killed four in the town of Okaya in Japan

Dozens of people have died across northeast Asia in landslides and floods caused by days of heavy rain.

At least 100 people have died or are missing in North Korea, the Red Cross said. State media confirmed storms had caused "tremendous" economic losses.

Flooding has also affected South Korea, with officials putting the toll of dead or missing at about 60.

Torrential rains have now hit central and western Japan, where 50cm (20in) of rain has fallen since Saturday.

Mudslides and flooding had left 10 people dead and 13 more missing, Kyodo news agency reported.

More rain was expected with "continued risk of serious disasters", the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

'Tremendous losses'

The Korean Peninsula has been hard hit by the seasonal weather since Friday, with heavy rain falling.

South Korea's eastern region was hardest hit

Jaap Timmer, Red Cross representative in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, said that in some remote areas, whole villages had been swept away and public services, such as health care clinics, destroyed.

The worst affected areas were the provinces of South Pyongan, North Hwanghe and Kangwon, the Red Cross said.

State news agency KCNA confirmed the storm damage but did not mention human casualties.

"Heavy rains have hit some areas, causing tremendous losses in various sectors of the national economy," the agency said, adding that a "large acreage" of agricultural land had been flooded.

This would be a blow for North Korea, which has experienced severe food shortages caused by natural disasters in the past.

Neighbouring South Korea has also suffered from the severe weather on the peninsula.

On Tuesday, the government declared disaster areas in 18 cities after days of rain caused flooding and landslides and knocked out power in several areas.

Many residents in hardest hit Gangwon province were forced to take refuge in shelters.

As of Wednesday, 25 people had died in the flooding and another 24 were missing, Seoul's National Emergency Management Agency said.