Highlights:
The torrential rains in the country due to typhoon Lionrock hitting the north east coast of DPR Korea have led to flash floods and landslides. The main areas affected in the North Hamgyong Province, are Musan County, Yonsa county, Hoeryong city which are heavily affected and Kyongwon county, Kyongsong county, and Onsong country of North Hamgyong province. Few other adjacent counties along the Tuman river in North Hamgyong and Ryanggang provinces were also affected.
Flash floods were reported on 29 August when the typhoon Lionrock created a low pressure area over the northwestern part of the country. Immediate relief measures have been taken by the national government with the support of international agencies.
Situation Analysis:
The Joint Assessment Mission comprising of three government officials and 20 UN Humanitarian Country Team representatives from all UN agencies, including WHO, from IFRC and different EUPS units have visited the affected areas from 6 September till 9 September 2016. The following are the key findings:
Situation more severe than originally reported in scale and complexity and complete data was still missing. More information is needed about the situation in Yonsa and neighboring counties in Ryanggan province.
A larger number of people in North Hamgyong province will be vulnerable due to breakdown in water, health and basic services as well as loss of crop and livestock. They may also become fully public distribution system (PDS) dependent.
The gravity-fed water system is estimated to have been 80 per cent washed away. People are depending on the river and a few wells with hand pumps for water, which is likely to be contaminated. According to authorities, people have been advised to boil the water, but with scarcity of fuel, this is not likely to happen. The assessment team estimated that the water quantity is sufficient in at least one location (Kang An Dong), but that it is probable that the quality of water is unsafe for drinking and cooking. An area of concern is the provision of proper water quality testing equipment.
Prevailing data on widespread breach of water supply system and compromised sanitation, with vast devastation of houses, and rapidly approaching severe winter in the area indicate that, there is significant risk of widespread outbreaks of communicable diseases especially of diarrhoea and acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) which could lead to significant morbidities and mortalities especially among vulnerable population (children, elderly and pregnant women). Food security/Nutrition is largely dependent upon the relief packages and supplies to the population, which is reported to be well organized. There are chances of long term dependency of population on PDS for the loss in the personal sources of food supply of the affected population.
Health and health facilities are reported to be hit severely in the floods with reports of significant shortages of medicines and equipment. Reports available till date indicates that out of 266 health facilities in the worst affected 6 counties, 45 have been damaged or destroyed.