N. Korea says several dozens killed or injured in recent downpours

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Monday that a recent powerful typhoon and heavy downpours have left several dozens of people dead or injured.
Gusting winds and flash floods also destroyed 2,900 homes across the country and submerged or washed away nearly 60,000 hectares of farmland, raising concern that the country's already serious food shortages may worsen, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.



North Korea has 1.6 million hectares of cultivated farmland, according to the Unification Ministry in charge of relations with the North.
The North has relied on international handouts since the late 1990s when it suffered a massive famine that was estimated to have killed 2 million people.
The KCNA said in a dispatch that some 170 production facilities and public buildings have collapsed while landslides destroyed roads and bridges, hampering recovery efforts.
The North's state media has detailed the damage in several reports over recent weeks, in what could be an attempt to win outside relief aid to quickly recover from the flooding.
North Korea has been hit hard by floods in recent years, mainly because of its lack of investment in disaster control and severe deforestation.
Last year, a massive flood swept through the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the border with China, inundating thousands of houses and a vast tract of farmland while killing 14 people, according to North Korea's media and international relief agencies.
In 2007, North Korea was hit by the heaviest rainfall in 40 years, leaving some 600 people dead or missing and about 100,000 people homeless.