Last week's World Vision flood response delegation to North Korea (8-13 September), saw the team while visiting different provinces and cities in the country witness large-scale damages, which have occurred to houses, infrastructure and farmland.

In meetings with both People's Committees in P'yong-song and P'yongsan, officials described to WV DPRK National Director Victor Hsu and Regional HEA Director Richard Rumsey how many households have lost food stocks, livestock and kitchen gardens, which will impact their ability to develop coping strategies to deal with food shortages during upcoming winter months.

Speaking of the initial heavy downpours P'yong-song People's Committee Chairwoman Mrs Han said, "This is the biggest disaster we have ever seen. Our lives before the disaster was quite simple but has now become much worse. As the Chairwoman for the county and city I feel responsible for not being able to provide what people need, that is why we are so grateful for World Vision's support now and even before the disaster."

She went on to explain how many people rushed to the local hospitals and government buildings for shelter and safety as their homes and other buildings crashed down around them. Many buildings including schools, hospitals and homes are made from mud and not concrete and therefore water washed the structure away as families raced to safety.

At one point as many as 3-4,000 children were being housed at the City hospital, most sleeping two to a bed or on the floor, as the staff established individual needs and planned for many to then relocate to nearby hospitals or into the capital's hospital for more serious injuries.

Mrs Han reported that around 5,000 families, 20-25,000 people and 6,000 children found themselves affected in this city alone and now many find themselves still living in temporary shelters some provided by the government or sharing their neighbours homes. Many families are also experiencing emotional strain, as they process the past few weeks and how their homes and livelihoods have been washed away.

As livestock losses now total 171,000 animals (poultry, pig, duck, rabbit, goat, geese, sheep, ox cow etc.) North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, North Pyongan and South Pyongan provinces are part of the DPRK "cereal bowl" which account for 76% of the country's total arable land. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that the damage to arable land cultivating rice, maize, maize, and soybean represent 223,381 hectares, about 16% of arable land. However, it is not yet possible to assess food deficit for this year till harvest time. Projected deficits range from 11 to 30%.

Factories, businesses, health institutions and hotels were destroyed. Transportation and communication infrastructure were both temporarily affected and damaged. According to Ministry of Public Health, 80,926 "dwellings" have been completely damaged and 401,576 partially damaged or completely submerged. Approximately 580 km of roads, 490 bridges and 1200 pubic buildings (factories, schools, nurseries and kindergartens, health centers, government building) have been seriously damaged.

WV DPRK National Director Victor Hsu said: "It was at times difficult to determine whether the current problems are not just due to the recent flooding but also due to the chronic underlying state of the country."

World Vision's report from this assessment trip includes plans to submit a proposal to the DPRK government, that looks at an emergency response over the next nine months and addresses short to long term needs, including the severe shortage of food and water.

Based on what the team witnessed there is also a need for additional medical support (medicine and or medical equipment / consumables), which will provide much needed health care to the wounded people including broken limbs, trauma related illnesses and treat widespread gastroenteritis and respiratory disease. Plus prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases including typhoid fever, cholera etc...

World Vision also hopes to provide support for infrastructure including broken water mains/dams, schools and health clinic rehabilitation, supply blankets and or temp shelter materials, essential as winter draws near and many families and children continue to live in inadequate shelter, sharing with neighbours or housed in government buildings.

World Vision began its work in North Korea in 1997 in response to a serious famine. It continues to operate relief and development projects, with special attention to children.

While visiting North Hwanghae province the team also had the opportunity to monitor the progress of a new bakery it has installed in Dochi-ri. World Vision have been partnering with the government and local community in this one area on a unique development project/model village, which among other programs has seen the opening of a bakery World Vision has equipped with 2 flour mixers, 1 dough cutter, 1 steamer, and 2 ovens, and can produce thousands of pieces of bread on a daily basis. The bakery provides daily lunches to four schools of almost 5,000 children in Dochi-ri.

World Vision also donated 60 MT of soybean, to provide soymilk to North Korea children in the area and two soy-oil extracting machines to produce cooking oil to promote the intake soy nutrients among families. Three wells are also being implemented in the township, one of which will be based in the local school, where previously no drinking water was available for the children and teachers who had to walk to the nearby village, they will now be able to access it directly in the school grounds. A World Vision fertilizer factory making compost from chicken waste has also created more jobs and improved crops for the local farmers.

The international aid and development agency has also donated 3 solar generators with a total capacity of 10 kWh ($100,000) to provide electricity for the community, including at the Dochi Clinic and Dochi School. These solar panels are the first of their kind in North Korea and are already proving to be a great success, providing electricity to schools, farms and hospitals in the area.

In a long-term effort to re-equip hospitals and clinics with medicines and medical equipment in order to improve the quality of medical care available to North Koreans, especially children and pregnant women, prior to the disaster this August, World Vision had donated medical x-ray machines, laboratory equipment, medicines and other medical supplies.

Over the last month World Vision in response to the DPRK government's international appeal for medicines, saw the three person World Vision delegation team as part of their visit delivering 12 boxes of initial medicine supplies to two hospitals in P'yong-song and P'yongsan Cities on Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 September, including paracetamol and saline solution.

These medicines are just the first of more supplies to be distributed from a World Vision chartered flight from Singapore and will be used particularly to address some of the many illnesses children face.

An earlier distribution of 2,000 of the 3,000 vaccines provided by World Vision for Diphtheria and Tetanus have been distributed by government officials on World Vision's behalf on the 2 September to the four counties Sinyang, Yamcho, Mengsang and Dochang in the province of P'yon-gan, 500 doses to each county. Another 1,000 are being reserved for future need.

In total, a reported 960,000 people have been directly affected by some of the worst flooding the country has experienced and they are in urgent need of emergency assistance: shelter, food, health and water-sanitation. By the end of August, it was established that 170,000 are homeless and that as many as 963 people are feared dead or missing.

For further information, interviews or photographs please contact Andrea Russell, World Vision Regional HEA Communications Manager for Asia Pacific. By email: andrea_russell@wvi.org or cell: (India) +91 9989 238223.