The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has made it a top priority to rebuild the disaster-hit cities and counties, in particular in North Hamgyong Province in the northeast, where tens of thousands of houses and public buildings collapsed and railways and roads were destroyed, said the KCNA.
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The U.N. Office for the Coordinate of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report more than 35,500 homes were damaged, two-thirds of them completely destroyed, and 107,000 people had been displaced by the floods.
Brigades of soldiers from around the country have been enlisted to help victims of the flooding, which began August 29 and was caused by Typhoon Lionrock.
The UN office said around 16,000 hectares (39,540 acres) of agricultural land have been ruined by the flood and that at least 140,000 people need immediate help. Pyongyang, which issued the data to the global organisation, said it was facing “great hardship” after water levels from the Tumen river rose and displaced around 1,00,000 people.
“All the people of the DPRK (North Korea) have turned out in a struggle for reconstruction of disaster areas in the northern part of North Hamgyong province recently hit hard by stormy heavy rainfalls”, it said.
It said a mass recovery effort has been launched.
The report on the official KCNA news agency gave no death toll or exact figure for damage.
“The country’s manpower and material and technical potentials are now concentrated on the flood damage rehabilitation”, the Korean Central News Agency said. The UNOCHA said a collaboration, comprising UN agencies, worldwide NGOs, the global Red Cross and the North’s Red Cross, conducted an inspection of the affected area last week.
It said aid agencies have released material from stockpiles in the North such as food, shelter and kitchen kits and water purification and health supplies.
The flooding occurred around the Tumen River, which runs between North Korea and China.
In August past year, major downpours followed by flash floods killed at least 40 people and devastated parts of the Rason area, near the Russian and Chinese borders where a key special economic zone is located.
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A series of floods and droughts was partially responsible for a starvation that killed hundreds of thousands between 1994-98, with economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support exacerbating the situation.
