Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




SHAKE AND BLOW
N. Korea says floods killed 169, left 400 missing
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) Aug 4, 2012


Floods which hit parts of North Korea in recent weeks killed 169 people and left 400 missing, the state news agency said Saturday, sharply updating earlier casualty figures.

It said the floods and torrential rain between late June and the end of July also made 212,200 people homeless and washed away or inundated 65,280 hectares (161,310 acres) of cropland.

United Nations agencies have visited the worst-hit areas to assess aid needs and the World Food Programme (WFP) is sending an initial shipment of emergency food aid.

The country suffered a famine in the 1990s that killed hundreds of thousands and still struggles to feed its people even in normal times.

UN agencies estimated last autumn that three million people would need food aid this year even before this summer's deluge.

More than 8,600 houses were destroyed and another 43,770 swamped, and more than 1,400 schools, hospitals and factories collapsed, the news agency said.

Official media had previously reported 119 deaths, with 84,000 people made homeless and 45,370 hectares of farmland damaged.

The WFP said its initial assistance would provide victims with an initial ration of 400 grams (14 ounces) of maize a day for 14 days, after the UN assessment mission found considerable damage to maize, soybean and rice fields.

The mission has said immediate food aid is needed for residents of the worst-hit counties, such as Anju and Songchon in South Pyongan province and Chonnae in Kangwon province.

It also stressed that tens of thousands of families urgently need clean drinking water to prevent disease.

Wells had been contaminated by overflowing latrines, creating a high risk of a diarrhoea outbreak, while floods had damaged water sources and pumping stations.

Citing government figures, the UN mission said about 50,000 families would need purification tablets or other help to secure clean water.

The UN children's fund UNICEF has ordered 10 million tablets along with other materials. Drugs and IV fluids were also badly needed.

The assessment mission said Thursday a hospital in Chonnae county had already seen a fourfold rise in diarrhoea cases.

"In general, unless... needs are addressed, rapid increase in diarrhoea, skin infection and respiratory infections could occur," it said in a report.

Outdated and inefficient agricultural practices, along with a shortage of fertiliser and diversion of food to the military, have contributed to the annual food shortages.

The mountainous North is also short of arable land.

But widespread deforestation, partly to clear land for crops, has made the impoverished nation increasingly prone to serious flooding which ends up washing away the harvest.

In February the United States reached a deal to offer the North 240,000 tonnes of food in return for a freeze on nuclear and missile tests.

But the plan was scrapped after Pyongyang's failed rocket launch in April, seen by the US and its allies as an attempted ballistic missile test.

.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SHAKE AND BLOW
One dead, 26 missing after north India floods
Dehradun, India (AFP) Aug 4, 2012
Flash floods triggered by heavy rains in two mountainous north Indian states have killed one person and left 26 others, mostly power plant workers, missing, officials said Saturday. Nineteen workers were reported missing from a hydroelectric power plant after water gushed into the facility in Uttarakhand state's Uttarkashi region, local administrator R. Rajesh Kumar told AFP. The workers ... read more


SHAKE AND BLOW
German National Academy of Sciences issues a critical statement on the use of bioenergy

U.S, Australian navies focus on new fuels

Strategies to improve renewable energy feedstocks

Brazil to build first algae-based biofuel plant

SHAKE AND BLOW
Dextrous robotic hand gets thumbs up

The first robot that mimics the water striders' jumping abilities

Insect-like robot can walk, leap on water

NRL Brings Inertia of Space to Robotics Research

SHAKE AND BLOW
Wales wind power line plans draw protests

Offshore use of vertical-axis wind turbines gets closer look

SeaRoc to provide full installation services on Narec's Offshore Anemometry Hub

Italian police seize giant wind farm in mafia probe

SHAKE AND BLOW
GM says China sales hit record high in July

Poll: Many think in-car technology a risk

Toyota says quarterly profit skyrockets to $3.71 bn

Pedestrianised Left Bank could spell Paris logjam: report

SHAKE AND BLOW
Chinese state media blast US over sea criticism

Detentions as Vietnam breaks up anti-China protest

Sleepy tropical island belies bold China sea claims

Research could lead to improved oil recovery, better environmental cleanup

SHAKE AND BLOW
carboNZero Holdings and Energy and Technical Services Limited (ETSL) form Strategic Partnership

AREVA joins the World Association of Nuclear Operators

AREVA receives NRC approval of new Simulation Validation Test for Digital I and C System

Australia inks UAE nuclear deal

SHAKE AND BLOW
S. Korea issues power shortage alert amid heatwave

China can learn from India's blackouts?

Scottish firth dubbed marine energy park

EDF first-half profits up on hydro, renewables

SHAKE AND BLOW
Turkmenistan to plant huge forest in Aral Sea region

Taking Stock Of Georgia State Forests

Tropical arks reach tipping point

Forest carbon monitoring breakthrough in Colombia




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement