North Korea Floods Cause Dozens of 'Casualties;' Hundreds of Acres of Farmland Swamped

Associated Press
Published: August 27,2015

Dozens of residents were injured or killed in North Korea, homes were destroyed and farmland was flooded when heavy rainfall from Typhoon Goni hit the northeastern region of the country over the weekend.
The rainfall also destroyed 1,070 homes and 99 public buildings between Saturday and Sunday, according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency.

Residents wade through floodwaters in North Korea.
(Screenshot via KCNA/Yonhap Media)

In addition to the human and property toll taken by the floods, more than 300 acres of farmland were also inundated near Rason city.
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KCNA's Korean-language dispatch cited "40 human casualties" without elaborating. Similar reports on past damaging rains indicate the figure is the number of dead.
North Korea often suffers heavy damages from summer rains due to poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure.
The heavy rains occurred as Typhoon Goni passed by the Korean Peninsula. Flooding and mudslides from the storm caused at least 21 deaths in the Philippines and some damage in western Japan.
On Aug. 12, KCNA said torrential rains on South Hwanghae province in southwestern North Korea killed about 10 people and destroyed hundreds of houses.

Wednesday's report didn't mention any damage to Rason's special economic zone.
Established in the early 1990s, Rason combines two small cities, Rajin and Sonbong, near the Chinese and Russian borders.
It's one of the special economic zones where North Korea has been attempting to lure foreign investment for the past two decades, but to poor success. During a visit to the area by The Associated Press in late 2013, Rason hosted 150 foreign companies from 20 countries.
International trade sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs limit activities in the special economic zones.
MORE: Typhoon Goni