More damage expected after floods in North Korea kill dozens

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un meets members of the Korean People's Internal Security Forces (KPISF) on July 27, 2012.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Eighty-eight people have so far been reported killed by the rainstorms


• Nearly 63,000 people have been left homeless


• Further "big damage" is expected after more rain Sunday, state media report


• Severe weather has caused chaos in other areas of East Asia recently

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Heavy rain across large swathes of North Korea has caused widespread flooding and killed dozens of people, state media reported, with warnings of more damage still to come.

The downpours have been rolling over the impoverished country for more than a week, sweeping away crops and destroying buildings, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in reports over the weekend.

As of Saturday, 88 people had died and 134 had been injured, KCNA said. It reported that more than 5,000 houses had been destroyed or damaged and 12,030 homes inundated, leaving nearly 63,000 people homeless.

And the torrential rain persisted through Sunday, causing further chaos.

"Most areas of the DPRK are expected to suffer big damage from continuous downpour accompanied by thunder and storm," KCNA reported early Monday, using the abbreviation of the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The highest numbers of deaths so far from the flooding were reported in areas of South Phyongan Province, northeast of the capital, Pyongyang.

The heavy rains Sunday hit Pyongyang, as well as North and South Phyongan provinces. The capital is the richest and most developed part of the country, used as a showcase by the secretive, nuclear-armed regime. The provinces tend to be poorer and have weaker infrastructure.

Other areas of East Asia have been hit by severe weather in recent weeks.

A violent rainstorm in Beijing more than a week ago caused the worst flooding in the Chinese capital in decades, killing at least 77 people and provoking criticism from residents about the city's infrastructure and response to the disaster.

China doubles Beijing flood death toll

Heavy rain elsewhere in China has left dozens more people dead, filled rivers and lakes to dangerous levels and forced the authorities to step up emergency preparations.

Early last week, a powerful storm that hit the southern Chinese coast prompted Hong Kong to raise its strongest typhoon warning for the first time in 13 years, shuttering much of the city.

Source & Image : CNN World