OCHA Situation Report No. 15
DPR Korea: Floods
19 November 2007


This report is based on information from UN Agencies, IFRC, Programme 
Support Units (PSUs), the Government of the Democratic People's Republic 
of Korea, and the OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP).

SITUATION

1. The Secretary-General of the National Coordinating Committee of the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a meeting with the UN Resident 
Coordinator ad interim, extended his gratitude to the United Nations and 
Donors for the efficient and effective response through the Flash 
Appeal. The Secretary-General confirmed that the Government of the 
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is rehabilitating the 
damaged infrastructure, houses and public buildings, which should be 
completed before end of the year as the whole society, including Army, 
has been mobilized. The Secretary General promised to look into the 
possibility of releasing more information on national rehabilitation 
efforts and progress achieved in the flood-affected areas.

2. According to WFP, rehabilitation of houses in the flood-affected 
areas is progressing well. Most one-storey houses were completed and 
rehabilitation of two-storey apartment buildings is underway. Families 
living in temporary shelters or with relatives, interviewed by WFP, hope 
to move into their new houses by the end of November, in the wake of 
quickly approaching winter. According to local officials, infrastructure 
rehabilitation was also nearing completion: roads are now reopened and 
accessible by trucks; railways were operational since mid-October and, 
with few exceptions, damaged bridges are repaired. In some counties, 
over 10, 000 people had been mobilized for the repair work.

3. According to the health sector agencies, the main challenges are: a) 
delay in receiving disease surveillance data from the Government of 
DPRK; b) shortage of emergency health supplies in the international 
market due to a high number of emergencies world-wide resulting in even 
longer lead-time for international procurement resulting in delay of 
some emergency supplies distributions.

4. With a technical support from UNICEF, the Ministry of City Management 
(MoCM) conducted a damage assessment of pump-based water supply systems 
in the 26 worst-affected counties. None of the visited counties had 
functional pumping stations due to either damaged installation or lack 
of power supply. As a result the population is relying on alternative 
water sources such as unprotected shallow wells, rivers and springs. All 
of the equipment assessed (motors, pumps, electric equipments, 
distribution pipes) is outdated. Distribution of basic spare parts would 
bring the pumping station into operation once the power supply is back. 
The basic spare parts have been received in country and are now under 
distribution to counties.

5. Local authorities report that 75% of the damaged school buildings 
have been repaired or reconstructed. However, in some areas the figures 
reported by People's Committees (local authorities) differ from those 
officially reported by the Ministry of Education.

6. With the main harvest of maize and rice completed, piles of crops can 
now be observed drying in the fields and along the roadsides before 
transport to the milling centres. The main agricultural activity now is 
harvesting Chinese cabbage to prepare the Kimchi for the winter season. 
County officials report that they are worried that the cabbage harvest 
will be significantly smaller this year, as the seeds were washed away 
due to the floods and only recently replanted. A poor cabbage harvest 
can be particularly hard for the poorest households as Kimchi serves as 
the primary source of vegetables during the Winter.

COORDINATED IN-COUNTRY RESPONSE

Health and Nutrition

7. Preliminary MUAC screening data received by UNICEF from the Ministry 
of Public Health (MoPH.) is being processed with the support of a 
nutrition specialist based in Beijing. UNICEF intends to use a 
nutritional paste to threat the severely malnourished children and 
screen for children with the initial stages of malnutrition at the Ri 
clinic. An initial 52 Metric tonnes of nutritional paste for treatment 
of moderate and severe malnutrition is being distributed to the 
flood-affected counties. Additional 50 Metric tonnes are expected to 
arrive soon.

8. Preparations are on-going for a nation wide campaign on diarrhoea 
prevention and promotion of good hygiene on Child Health Day, 5 
December. UNICEF is using the CERF allocation for the campaign in order 
to procure 3 million ORS sachets, 880,000 Zinc tablets, 340,000 soap 
bars and print leaflets in Korean on diarrhoea prevention and the use of 
Zinc and ORS (1 million diarrhoea and half million Zinc tablet 
leaflets). These are expected to be delivered to affected counties by 30 
November. Health education sessions on the use of ORS will take place in 
the week of 18 November. The UN, donors and embassies will be invited to 
visit different counties and Ris to observe the campaign.

9. IFRC and the MoPH assessed 200 affected health facilities and 
selected 150 Ri health facilities in South Hamgyong, South Pyongan and 
North Hwanghae provinces for provision of medical equipment and 
instruments. The procurement of furniture (locally) and equipment 
(internationally) has already begun. In conjunction with this, WHO will 
support rehabilitation of 95 ri health facilitates.

10. EUPS Unit 1 plans to distribute medicine kits to 12 hospitals in 
early December, contingent on their arrival before the end of November. 
UNICEF is distributing essential medicine kits in 3 provinces (North 
Hwanghae, South Hwanghae and Kangwon). WHO procurement is on-going for 
445 Ri Kits and 445 midwifery kits, 47 Inter-agency Emergency Health 
Kits and 10,000 typhoid oral vaccines. UNFPA is finalizing the 
distribution and monitoring plans for additional Emergency Reproductive 
Health kits, expected to arrive in early December and the second 
shipment in early January.

WASH

11. The MoCM agreed with the recommendation to carry out a centralized 
repair campaign of pumps/motors to be undertaken in Pyongyang and 
Provincial capitals in February 2008. UNICEF has placed order for 
necessary repair materials for carrying out centralized repair.

12. The international technical team prepared a modular design for an 
emergency pump-based system, which would be constructed in counties 
where pump stations have been washed away or are beyond repair. Two pump 
stations in Koksan and Taetan counties have been identified for urgent 
rehabilitation in March-April 2008, once the weather conditions allow 
construction works. UNICEF will prepare a proposal to be submitted to 
donors for a second phase of emergency rehabilitation of water supply 
systems in 6-7 additional sites.

13. EUPS Unit 2 has completed 40 per cent of rehabilitation works of 
Yonggwang county water supply project. Pump house rehabilitation has 
been finished and pumps are to be installed by the end of November.

14. Spare parts will be provided by EUPS 1 for the rehabilitation of the 
Pongsan pump station, which supplies water to Pongsan town but also to 
Sariwon. Works will be completed by the end of November.

Food

15. WFP has completed the second cycle of food distributions consisting 
of some 4,801 tonnes of cereals to all 37 counties targeted under the 
EMOP. WFP also delivered the 10,366 tonnes of food planned under the 
EMOP, with the exception of 32 tonnes of vegetable oil, which is planned 
for distribution in December.

16. WFP international staff were present at the Public Distribution 
Centres (PDCs) to observe the distribution of food and conduct 
interviews with beneficiaries and local officials. Food distributions 
were on-going in all but one county visited during the reporting period. 
There was limited food available in the PDCs, however local authorities 
stated that cereals from the harvest would start arriving shortly.

17. County officials estimated that this years harvest would be 
significantly affected due to the floods. Official data with respect to 
this years harvest is expected in late-January when it will be released 
by the Ministry of Agriculture. In view of the possible shortfall, many 
counties plan to adjust the food basket and reduce the rations provided 
through the Public Distributions System. Many officials stated that WFP 
assistance would be needed to cover the gap from the floods, as support 
for food-for-community-development rehabilitation projects and as 
regular nutritional support to children and pregnant and lactating 
women.

Education

18. In agreement with the Ministry of Education (MoE), UNICEF 
procurement of 13,105 furniture sets benefiting 26,210 students is 
complete. However, the delivery of the supplies will be delayed due to 
management constraints by the local supplier. Furniture provision 
accounts for 85 per cent of the total education emergency response. 
UNICEF is also to procure 1,300 classroom stationery kits and school 
recreational kits for 35,000 children without classrooms and 261 damaged 
schools (official MoE data).

Agriculture

19. FAO expects delivery of 400 tonnes of spring barley seed, 400 tonnes 
of fertiliser and 2500 rolls of plastic sheeting in December. This will 
be distributed to the co-op farms which lost significant quantities of 
crops during the August floods, especially in South Pyong'an, North 
Hwanghae and Pyongyang provinces.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

20. The DPRK Flash Appeal for 14.1 million USD is now 83.3% funded, with 
a further 1.3 million USD pledged. For additional updates, please refer 
to the OCHA Financial Tracking Service (FTS) http://Reliefweb.int/fts.

21. This situation report, together with further information on ongoing 
emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at 
http://www.reliefweb.int.

For detailed information please contact

Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok;
Mr. Markus Werne, Mob. +66 81 917 8940, Tel. +66 2288 2558
Ms. Amanda Pitt ,Mob. +66 81 374 1035,Tel. +66 2288 1195


Desk Officer:
(NYC)  Mr. Ivan Lupis, Tel. +1 917 367 5286

Press contact: (NY),  Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Tel. +1 917 367 5126
(GVA),Ms. Elizabeth Byrs,Tel. +41 22 917 2653


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