ATTENTION -details of damage and relief efforts ///
Nearly 250 people are dead or missing in North Korea from heavy floods and landslides that washed away entire villages and destroyed vital crops this month, the International Red Cross said here Tuesday.
The worst natural disaster to hit the impoverished country in four years has left at least 121 people dead and another 127 were missing, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
"The death toll (in four provinces) is 121 people," said Hope Weiner, an official with the federation's East Asia regional office based in Beijing.
"The number of people missing in those counties is 127. That is as of today. Those are the latest figures."
The information is based on government statistics provided to the International Red Cross, Weiner said.
The casualties occurred after a typhoon struck North Korea in mid-July, causing extensive flooding and landslides, especially in those four provinces — South Pyongan, North Hwanghae, Kangwon and South Hamgyong — the Red Cross said in a statement later.
Nearly 17,000 families have been left homeless in the provinces, it said.
The rain totally or partially destroyed 23,400 houses and caused extensive damage to crops and infrastructure, the Red Cross said.
"In some locations whole villages have been swept away and essential public facilities (such as clinics) destroyed, while widespread damage to roads and bridges has displaced and stranded many people," it said.
The Red Cross said it had no immediate plans to appeal for international aid as Pyongyang has not requested it and the relief agency had adequate supplies.
Damage to the harvest, however, sparked concerns that North Korea's chronic food shortages may worsen again.
"It will be tough for the people living there now. The longer term impact is it's bound to reduce the crop results this year," Alistair Henley, head of the regional office, told AFP.
The last time North Korea was hit by a natural disaster of this magnitude was in 2002 when a typhoon hit, he said.
The Red Cross, one of the few international aid groups allowed into the impoverished country by the reclusive communist government, only had data from those four provinces.
Just in those provinces, 13,290 hectares (32,826 acres) of arable land were totally washed away or damaged, the Red Cross said, adding that floods transformed farmland to lakes in a matter of minutes.
North Korea has been relying on international food handouts, especially those from South Korea and China, since being hit by a series of natural disasters in the mid-1990s.
Henley indicated the final casualty figure may not be much higher as the four areas it had figures for were the worst hit provinces.
However, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday the rains have left hundreds of people dead or missing across the country.
"Tens of thousands of houses and buildings were damaged, destroyed or inundated. Bridges, roads and railways were also damaged in hundreds of different places," it said.
