By Muhammad Khalid, Health Delegate for the International Federation in Pyongyang
The torrent of August flood waters washed away houses and severely damaged the local clinic in Tae Heung Ri, South Phyongan Province, in the heart of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Villagers have since slept in public buildings or neighbours' homes by night and sheltered in tents by day.
"Without the help of the Red Cross, it would have been very difficult for us to resume our daily life," said 61-year-old grandmother Ha Myong Ok. The shelters that she and her neighbours are using are made of tarps provided by the DPRK Red Cross.
They form part of the kits of relief items given to flood victims in order to help them get by, including blankets, water purification tablets, cooking equipment and a jerrycan to store water.
In her 22 years living in this village, Ha says she has never before experienced such devastating rains. With the help of government officials, the affected people in this village first received shelter and food, followed by relief items from the Red Cross.
Ha proudly shows off the inside of her tent, where her grandson sleeps comfortably. She and her husband live here for now with her son's family.
As she busily cooks the evening meal for her family of five, she follows the advice of her doctor to boil the spring water or use water purification tablets distributed by Red Cross before drinking it.
"We are still working daily, seeing 25 to 30 patients," says local doctor, Pak Tong Kun, who is working in a kindergarten-turned-clinic. Between 60 and 70 per cent of them have diarrhoea and abdominal problems," he says.
"It was in the early evening and all four members of the clinic staff were out doing their usual visits in the community when the village was hit by the flood," explains the doctor. "Everything was washed away except the supplies we carry with us during home visits every day."
In Jong Yang Jang Ri, a nearby community, shattered ruins are all that remain of the local clinic.
"It was five or six o'clock in the evening when we were warned by the cooperative farm management and Red Cross volunteers to evacuate due to the danger of floods," recounts Dr. Kim Rok Won, who has worked in the Jong Yang Jang Ri clinic for 20 years.
Thanks to the unprecedented early warning, the vast majority of the community got to safety, although two people lost their lives. The clinic and all the medical supplies in it, however, were completely destroyed.
Now Dr. Kim and his colleagues are working out of the cooperative farm building. He, too, notes an increased number of diarrhoea cases compared to the pre-flood situation but he says things could be worse.
"Owing to the Red Cross distribution of water purification tablets, and health education and hygiene promotion by the clinic staff and RC volunteers, we have so far still been able to prevent any outbreak of disease," says Dr. Kim.
The DPRK Red Cross has handed out nearly four million water purification tablets to flood-affected families. "To keep up this vigilance, we need essential medicine and safe drinking water for the people badly affected by the flood."
In mid-August, the International Federation launched an emergency appeal for 6.6 million Swiss francs ($ 5.5 million USD / € 4.1 million), aimed mainly at providing basic medicines for 3.7 million people affected by the floods. It is estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of the health facilities and medical supplies in the flood-stricken provinces were damaged.
The appeal will also replenish disaster preparedness stocks at Red Cross warehouses. In the first three weeks of the operation, nearly 6,000 DPRK Red Cross volunteers and staff delivered 65 per cent of their total supply of family kits, similar to the one Ha received, to thousands of homeless families throughout the country.
Red Cross volunteers have faced logistical nightmares in trying to reach nearly one million people affected in far-flung corners of nine provinces. Journeys often take two to three times longer than usual due to washed out bridges and roads.
Bearing the brunt of these conditions are the communities who live in the mountainous areas hit by floods. The tireless efforts of the Red Cross volunteers and staff have made it possible so far to distribute more than 2,500 kits of relief goods to affected people in South Phyongan alone.
As part of the operation, which will continue until February 2008, the International Federation and the DPRK Red Cross are continuing to support a range of assistance to flood-affected communities, including health and hygiene promotion, water and sanitation, and the provision of household items.