N. Korea prepares for flood damage as torrential rain hits peninsula

SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media said Tuesday that the
country's workers were joining efforts to prevent potential flood damage from
torrential rains now battering the country that Seoul's meteorologists say will
be severe.
Seasonal floods are common in North Korea where decades of deforestation have
left the country without a natural protection against annual rains, which can
wipe out harvests and threaten the country's already unstable food production.
Railroad and transportation workers in Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province, "are
putting their energy into projects to prevent damage during the torrential rainy
season," state-run Radio Pyongyang said.
The workers are examining railroad drainage facilities, repairing eroded parts
and setting up emergency measures, it said.
The Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul has forecast that the current
storm will be more severe in some parts of North Korea than in the South.
Southern and central parts of North Korea are expected to receive 60 to 150
millimeters of rain on Tuesday, compared to Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi
Province, which is forecast to receive some 50 to 100mm.
The peninsula's monsoon season began on June 20, with Seoul having since received
490mm of rain in the past 12 days through Monday, the most recorded since 1980.
Unseasonably mild weather last year allowed North Korea's grain harvest to expand
to 4.3 million tons, compared with 4 million tons in 2007, according to South
Korean government data. North Korea is expected to need an additional 1 million
ton or more of outside aid this year to feed its 24 million people, according to
Seoul officials.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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