North Koreans urgently need drinking water after floods

Terra Daily via AFP: Tens of thousands of flood-hit North Korean families urgently need clean drinking water to prevent disease outbreaks, UN agencies said Thursday. The agencies and other aid groups reported their assessment a day after state media reported a total of 119 deaths and major crop damage in recent weeks in the food-scarce nation.

The UN said wells have been contaminated by overflowing latrines, creating a high risk of a diarrhoea outbreak, while floods had damaged water sources and pumping stations. Citing government figures, it said about 50,000 families in six badly-hit counties would need purification tablets or other help to secure clean water.

The UN children's fund UNICEF has ordered 10 million tablets along with other materials. Drugs and IV fluids were badly needed. The report said a hospital in Chonnae county had already seen a fourfold rise in diarrhoea cases. "In general, unless... needs are addressed, rapid increase in diarrhoea, skin infection and respiratory infections could occur."...

North Korean soldiers near the Military Demarcation Line, shot by SRA JEFFREY ALLEN, public domain