Over 100 Feared Dead in N. Korea Floods

[AussieMark]

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- More than 100 people are dead or missing in North Korea due to floods and landslides, an aid group operating in the communist nation said Wednesday.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said heavy rains last week and this week had caused flash floods that totally or partially destroyed 11,524 houses, leaving more than 9,000 families homeless.

More than 100 people were dead or missing, the group said in a statement, without giving further details on casualties. The damage has cut off telephone connections, making collecting reliable information difficult, it said.

"A lot of people have been displaced, they are trying to find out who is actually missing," Jaap Timmer, head of the International Red Cross in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, told The Associated Press by telephone.

South Korea has also suffered from the heavy rains, which have led to at least 25 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the South's Yonhap news agency.

The North's official media has reported on the weather affecting the country, but has not mentioned any damage or casualties.

The federation said the heavy weather could also affect North Korea's food supply - critical to the country that suffered famine in the 1990s believed to have killed as many as 2 million people.

"Extensive areas of arable fields have been inundated, wiping out much of the anticipated harvest," the federation said.

North Koreans' efforts to grow food on any possible arable land has led to deforestation in the mountainous areas of the country's South Pyongan, North Hwanghe and Kangwon provinces, leading to landslides, Timmer said.

"Erosion is most likely the main cause of this large disaster," he said.

To cope with the disaster, the federation was providing blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, water containers and purification tablets to 9,934 families whose homes were destroyed. The group also said it was considering launching an emergency international appeal.

Timmer said the Red Cross was considering launching an international emergency appeal, and representatives were negotiating with the government to get access to affected areas to survey what was needed. He said he hoped to send workers to the area by Thursday or Friday.

[TexasStooge]

It seems there's a lot of turmoil this year.