North Korea flood crisis worsens: Thousands left without clean water

Since mid-August, North Korea has been grappling with the aftermath of flooding in the western part of the country. According to independent media, the regime cannot cope with the disaster. As a result, thousands of people are without drinking water, and some are forced to drink rainwater to survive.

Nearly a month has passed since the floods hit North Korea at the beginning of August. In just a few days of heavy rains, over 4,000 houses in the country's northwestern part were flooded. The area now faces another crisis, with over 5,000 people being cut off from the world and lacking access to running drinking water.

The situation in Kim Jong Un’s country is dire. According to Daily NK, many people complain that the water delivered by firefighters is mixed with dirt. To make matters worse, each household is limited to barely 11 gallons. For this reason, many people collect and later drink rainwater.

The water delivered by fire trucks is mixed with dirt, so it can't be drunk immediately. People say it's lucky to get water at all — an anonymous informant told Daily NK.

According to the portal's informant, dissatisfaction with the local party committee is growing due to ineffective aid. However, the committee is trying to calm the tension using the police, so that news of the worsening situation of the victims does not reach the country's center.

The flood victims who remain are complaining about the injustice of their situation, pointing out that the government's selective aid only worsens the victims' plight. They also criticize the provincial party committee for using the police to gag residents out of fear that the central committee will learn about the situation's development — said an anonymous source to Daily NK.