Monday August 9, 2010North Korea floods destroy bridges, railways: KCNA
SEOUL - Floods caused by torrential rain have washed away homes, roads, railways and farmland in North Korea, state media said Sunday, without giving a casualty toll. “Water damage restoration work is underway in ... areas struck by continuing torrential rain,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, adding authorities were holding emergency meetings on aid for those affected.
The agency said work was underway to rebuild flood-hit homes, public buildings, bridges and roads.
Workers in the eastern province of South Hamkyong have restored all 110 irrigation channels that were destroyed, it said.
Work was also underway in the northwestern province of North Pyongan, next to the border with China, and in Hwanghae province in the southwest.
Railways and telephone lines in Jagang province to the east of North Pyongan have been restored, it said.
The report did not say exactly when the floods hit the impoverished nation, which even in normal times suffers severe food shortages.
Last Thursday KCNA reported widespread flood damage following torrential rain in July. Some 5,560 houses were destroyed along with 360 public buildings and factories, it said.
There were also fatalities, KCNA said without elaborating.
Some 14,850 hectares (36,700 acres) of farmland were “submerged, buried or washed away,” the agency said Thursday.
The North suffers frequent floods during the rainy season due to deforestation of hillsides for firewood or agriculture and a lack of flood control measures.
In August 2007 the country's worst floods in a decade left at least 600 people dead or missing.
South Korea's Meteorological Administration says 315.8 millimeters (12.6 inches) of rain fell in the North in July, up 139 percent from the monthly average.
China has suspended shipping and tourist boat traffic on the Yalu River, which forms part of its border with North Korea, over fears of flooding as authorities predict more rain
http://www.einnews.com/news.php?id=279217928
