(ANSA) - SEUL, 07 AUG - Over a thousand houses have been damaged and at least 5,000 people have been evacuated after the floods caused by heavy rains in North Korea. The state broadcaster refers to it, underlining how the flooding of large portions of agricultural land risks aggravating food tears in the country.
An alarm to this effect was launched last month by UN food and agriculture agencies, according to which North Korea is facing a food shortage estimated at around 860,000 tons for this year alone.
The images released by the Pyongyang broadcaster KCTV show the water reaching the roofs of houses and damaged bridges.
The comment states that "hundreds of hectares of agricultural land" have also been submerged or lost in the southern province of Hamgyong, the hardest hit, where the banks of a river collapsed.
Deforestation and poor infrastructure have made North Korea particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Already last summer, a series of typhoons caused floods that damaged farmland and destroyed thousands of homes.
Leader Kim Jong Un said in June that the country's food supply situation was "becoming strained" and called for measures to minimize the impact of natural disasters. But the country, which already in the 90s had felt serious consequences after the collapse of the Soviet empire, is now dealing with the closure of its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has almost completely deprived it of important supplies from Beijing. (HANDLE).