More rain on the way
July 29, 2012Over the past month, North Korea has been hit with a deluge of rain that has also left 60,000 people homeless. The KCNA news agency said about 4,800 hectares (11,860 acres) of cropland had been washed away and 25,700 hectares (63,500 acres) submerged.
The full scope of the disaster was only confirmed on Saturday when North Korea released the latest figures related to the typhoon rain damage. The death toll was significantly higher than was reported just a few days before.
The flooding, which comes on the heels of a drought earlier in the summer, will likely worsen North Korea's food crisis. Last month the United Nations said it expected three million people in the country to require food aid this year. North Korea has a population of 24 million.
mz/ncy (AFP, AP, dpa)