Recent heavy rains in northwestern North Korea have submerged thousands of homes and vast tracts of farmland, leaving many residents homeless and living in makeshift tents, North Korean state media reported Wednesday.
North Korea earlier said more than 5,000 people stranded in the cities of Sinuiju and Uiju had been rescued by airlift and other evacuation efforts, after rains on Saturday (July 27) caused rivers in the border region with China to overflow.
However, there was no mention of any specific damage, or whether there were any casualties.
North Korea is prone to flooding from heavy mid-summer rains, due to poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Wednesday that about 4,100 houses, 3,000 hectares of farmland and many public buildings, roads and railways in Sinuiju and Uiju were flooded.
KCNA said about 150 people in nearby Jagang province were also isolated due to flooding from a different river there, but they were all evacuated to safety by military helicopters.
KCNA did not say whether anyone was killed or injured in the flood-hit area.
In an emergency Politburo meeting chaired by leader Kim Jong Un in Sinuiju, officials decided to build 4,400 new houses and strengthen embankments in Sinuiju and Uiju as well as restore damaged facilities in Jagang province, the report said.
Kim ordered urgent measures to supply flood victims with materials that have been stored for disaster relief, and asked Politburo members to visit people living in tents to comfort them and observe their living conditions, he said. KCNA.
Kim also called on authorities to “severely punish” those he said were neglecting their responsibility for disaster prevention. KCNA did not say what punishments would be imposed, but said Politburo members later approved the appointment of new Workers' Party secretaries in flood-hit areas and a new public security minister. (ns/uh)
