Hundreds of homes in N. Korea’s Jagang Province swept away by July’s heavy rains

North Korea’s northern province of Jagang is presumed to have suffered severe damage from the downpours in late July, with hundreds of houses there being washed away by floods and a landslide, the unification ministry said Wednesday, citing satellite imagery.

Heavy rains in July flooded large swaths of lands along the Amnok River in North Phyongan, Jagang and Ryangang provinces. North Korea’s state media has not disclosed details of human casualties.

Among them, Jagang Province appears to have sustained severe flood damage, with North Korea only mentioning recovery efforts in the province while not reporting either rescue operations or the extent of the damage, according to the unification ministry.

Citing satellite imagery, the ministry said about 200 houses in a district of Songgan County in Jagang Province have been swept away by the flood and its subsequent landslide.

The area was vulnerable to inundation and a landslide that might have occurred in a short period of time, probably generating large hu
man losses, a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“Industrial facilities in the province, including munitions factories, also appear to have been flooded,” the official said.

This combination of images, provided by South Korea’s unification ministry on Oct. 2, 2024, shows satellite imagery over Gwangmyong-ri, Songgan County in North Korea’s Jagang Province. The ministry offered satellite imagery to compare the impact of the heavy rains on the area in late July. The upper image, based on Google Earth, was pictured on March 31, 2023, and the bottom one from AIRBUS was shot on Aug. 4, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

This combination of images, provided by South Korea’s unification ministry on Oct. 2, 2024, shows satellite imagery over Gwangmyong-ri, Songgan County in North Korea’s Jagang Province. The ministry offered satellite imagery to compare the impact of the heavy rains on the area in late July. The upper image, based on Google Earth, was pictured on March 31, 2023, and the b
ottom one from AIRBUS was shot on Aug. 4, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

In July, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in North Phyongan Province to guide an operation to rescue around 5,000 residents in the flood-hit areas. He also ordered bringing flood victims to Pyongyang to provide shelter and visited sites of recovery work under way.

The unification ministry said it was “very rare” for North Korea’s state media to report Kim doing public activities solely related to the flood eight times in a span of about two weeks.

“This indicates that public sentiment has worsened and people’s discontent has mounted. North Korea appears to be struggling to curb the deterioration of public sentiment from the flood,” it said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency