N. Korean Floods Evict Thousands

Reuters. Video footage showing flooding in the streets of North Korea on Tuesday.


N. Korean Floods Evict Thousands
Reuters



SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean authorities have indicated flooding may have left up to 300,000 people homeless, a United Nations aid agency spokesman said Wednesday, while the communist state warned of a poor harvest this year due to the heavy rain.
North Korea said hundreds were dead or missing after flooding over the past several days that washed away thousands of structures and ruined crop land in the country's agricultural region.
The country's official KCNA news agency quoted an agricultural ministry official Wednesday as saying the damage to farm crops was heavier than in previous floods, with more than 11 percent of paddy and maize fields submerged, buried or swept away.
"Unprecedented torrential rains have poured down in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for days in succession from August 7, throwing a shadow over the prospect of the agricultural production," the agency said.
Paul Risley, Asia spokesman for the UN World Food Program, said a UN assessment team has visited one area near Pyongyang, and added that North Korea was seeking international help.