August 2000
A severe tropical storm hit the northeast-coast on 31 August. Wind and flooding have caused considerable damage to houses and infrastructure such as roads and bridges. In many cases telephone lines are down.
There are unofficial reports that 42 people have been killed in South Hamyong.
The senior UN official in DPRK - and WFP Representative - David Morton was in Chongjin at the time the storm struck and witnessed much of the damage.
Chongjin was under one metre of water in some parts. However, this has now receded and many hundreds of people have been mobilised and are busy clearing away one foot of mud and debris from streets. Many people have lost their homes and public buildings have been damaged.
A major road bridge 30km south of Chongjin has lost two spans leaving a 40 - 50 metre gap. This bridge is the only route south from Chongjin. The adjacent rail bridge is also not passable. The river has spread over a large area - perhaps 800 metres wide - destroying some homes. An alternative way through the river is being constructed and WFP was the first vehicle to make it out of Chongjin after the storm after a 4 day delay.
One of the most severely affected stretches is from Machon pass down to Hamhung where many bridges have been washed away. There is a stretch of 13 kms of road north of Hamhung which travels along the embankment of the main river here (Horyonchong). Much of this road has been washed out and bridges destroyed and an alternative route is being used that passes through villages and fields, but these are narrow and there is much congestion and trucks are still getting stuck.
The damage to roads and rail transport represent very serious problems as repairs will be extensive, expensive and lengthy. Very large numbers of men and women have been actively engaged in repair work since 2 September. Most of the repair work is being done by hand, with the assistance of ox carts to move earth and stones. Bridge repairs are being made using logs and stones.
Emergency Officer Mirjana Kavelj, assessing the damage in South Hamyong, spoke to Ms. Chan Sun E who was digging some kitchen pots out of the mud. She has lost everything and is sleeping in a neighbour’s house. The only food she has is some recently harvested early maize. Kitchen facilities in a nearby nursery are being used to prepare food for the homeless.
Crop Damage
A feature of this storm is that it has caused rivers to flood, but embankments have generally held, protecting surrounding crops. The containment of the excess water within embankments may be a reason why damage to infrastructure has been more severe than damage to crops. Very few areas were seen still under flood waters.
Crop damage by flooding and wind not yet assessed by FDRC in North Hamgyong. Observations whilst travelling are that the area north of Chongjin, which is mainly undulating countryside planted with maize, is that there were many localised areas of maize flattened, but not necessarily broken, by high winds. Flood water if any had receded in most areas. As the maize was near harvesting some is recoverable. In some areas maize cobs were set out to dry. Maize tassles were often blackened.
South of Chongjin, many areas of maize had been affected by strong winds, and had been flattened, but not necessarily broken. A few areas were seen where maize had been flooded and still lay on the ground. This will be lost.The maize in some areas here had already been affected by the drought.
Rice, which looked to be a good crop, seemed largely unaffected by storm damage. There were however several localised areas where rice had been under water for several days and would be lost.
The disruption caused to transport may affect harvesting and the movement of harvested grain.
The crop will be assessed by the Food & Crop Assessment Mission which is scheduled to take place between 26 September - 7 October 2000.
The WFP Response
Emergency Officer Sungval Tunsiri has been working with the provincial FDRC to determine reconstruction/repair FFW projects in North Hamyong Province.
The following have been approved and will be implemented with 400 Mts. of wheat that WFP held as contingency:
- Reconstruction of two washed out roads
- Reconstruction/repair of two embankments
- Repair of topsoil and stone railway line
- Reconstruction 2 broken spans of the major road bridge
- Repair of one paddy field and maize farm that is covered by mud and sand
Access
No change in Access this month:
Counties accessible: 163
No access: 48
Total counties: 211
Japanese Delegation
WFP hosted a three-person mission from the government of Japan during August. Mr. Masaharu Kohno, Deputy Director-General, Asian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and two other Japanese officials from MFA visited DPRK between 8 - 12 August along with a Japanese speaking WFP Resources Officer.
The mission was fielded to monitor a donation of 100,000 Mts. of rice and accompanied WFP Emergency Officers on field visits to warehouses and institutions such as nurseries and kindergartens and visited an elderly beneficiary at home.
Speaking to the media in Beijing Mr. Kohno said that the mission believed that the rice was being distributed to "all sections of the population".
Pipeline and Resourcing
During August WFP received a donation of 13,000 Mts. of wheat from the government of Australia. Complementary commodities - pulses and vegoil - are still urgently required to provide a balanced food basket.
Operational Update
EMOP 5959.01 has been extended until December 2000. This will allow the project to tie in with the OCHA co-ordinated Consolidated Appeal Process.
WFP has been requested to take over food distributions in South Hwangae and South Pyongan, formerly covered by the European Union. The EU has decided to concentrate their programme on non-food items, predominantly fertilizer.
Monitoring
During August WFP Emergency Officers carried out 270 monitoring visits.
Shipping and Logistics
Commodity arrivals in August totaled 57,060 Mts. of commodities, 30,000 Mts. rice 25,000 Mts. wheat, 1,260 Mts. soya beans and 800 Mts. DSM.
World Food Programme
PO Box 27 Munsudong
Pyongyang
DPR Korea
Tel: 850-2- 3817 220
Fax: 850-2- 3817 639
E-mail: first.last@wfp.org
The Food Aid Organisation of the United Nations System