[imText1]Good Friends, one of the organizations supporting North Korea, announced that due to the heavy rain, deaths and missing persons are expected to amount to 10,000, engendering much controversy. It was estimated that the number of people affected by the flood amounts to between 1,300,000 and 1,500,000.
Estimating the scope and the scale of flood damage, Good Friends stated that corpses are still drifting on the water and aid supplies have not been delivered to the North Korean people. In addition, it said that this year’s flood damage is more serious than that of the late-90’s. Yet due to the missile conflict, North Korea and the international community are in a quasi-state of war, leading to the North’s inability to mobilize an army.
However, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the only international organization supporting recovery activities of North Korea, emphatically denied this claim, declaring it “unbelievable”.
Representative of the ICRC in East-Asia, Allister Henry, revealed that, “Now the ICRC is the only international organization supporting North Korea, and has been attempting to relieve the flood victims”, adding “As of late July, 141 have died, and 112 are still missing”.
North Korea announced that at present, the number of the deaths amounts to hundreds of people. The ICRC with that estimate, through information they have gained from witnesses to the flooded areas.
It will likely take a long time to gather information on the damage inflicted in specific districts. The North Korean government has gathered data on the damage, but has refused to release it publicly, choosing to keep the extent of the damage quiet.
Is it true that the number of the deaths amounts to 10,000?
A few questions have come up regarding the claim that the number of the deaths amounts to 10,000 people.
The DailyNK confirmed through internal North Korean sources, that the greatest number of deaths, 200, occurred in the Shinyang district, and that the number of deaths in the Yangduk district of South Pyongan Province was only 100, not 1000, as Good Friends had claimed.
It is possible that the information gathered by Good Friends came from distraut flood victims who may have inadvertently overestimated damages. It has been determined that less than 10% of the areas around South Pyongan province were damaged.
Therefore, the number of deaths has been estimated at less than 200,000, including the Shinyang district, South Pyongan province, Heeshun districts, Jagang Province, Yoduk district, South Hamkyung province, North Hwanghae province, Kimhwa, Kangwon province. Internal sources reported that the estimate of 1,500,000 flood victims, including damage to homes, is possible.
A significant part of emergency aid has been confirmed to have reached the North Korean people. Emergency tableware, blankets and vinyl tents have been sent. In addition, each province has dispatched recovery construction workers and heavy equipment to the damaged areas to help in reconstruction.
It has been learned that soldiers are also participating in the recovery, and border guards have joined in the job of Yalu riverbank reinforcement.
While it is true that North Korea lacks a lot of heavy equipment to use in the rebuilding process, it is not true that it does not have any machines. Claims that North Korea will be unable to complete the reconstruction on their own are unpersuasive. From start to finish, the reconstruction process will likely take two to three months.
Claims that the flooding damage is similar to the “March of Tribulation in the mid-90’s are also exaggerated. In the mid-90’s, the continuous great flooding destroyed the fundamental agricultural bases, and the scale of the damage ranged from mines to companies, resulting in severe energy crisis. North Korea claimed that the cessation of factory operations led to the suspension of power plant use.
While the damage incurred during the recent floods is certainly severe, it cannot be compared to the disaster of the mid-90s. It is no “March of Tribulation”.
This heavy rains led to thousands of deaths, but greater considerations are now being taken in regard to typhus and other epidemics that had been spreading prior to the flooding. Because the diseases are waterborne, the spread of the diseases may now increase, leading to an epidemic disaster.
Although the North has taken the unwise route of denying international aid, the South should continue to pursue its humanitarian actions, demand that the North meet the transparency conditions of the international community, and prevent the North from taking its people hostage.
Despite the numerous international offers of aid, North Korea has still not accepted any. If the South Korean government were to rush to the aid of the North in this situation, it would likely invite misunderstandings from both the North, and from the international community. While South Korea stands firm with the international community in regard to the missile conflict, in order to successfully and transparently distribute food aid, it should make full use of the WFP.
