North Korean Military Base Suffers Severe Flood Damage, Hundreds of Homes Destroyed

▲ A North Korean village flooded by heavy rain in 2024 (The photo above is unrelated to the article body.)

Hundreds of homes at a North Korean military base near the inter-Korean border have been analyzed to have been destroyed by floods.

U.S.-based North Korea-focused media outlet NK News reported on the 6th, local time, that an analysis of data from private satellite imagery company Planet Labs showed that about 380 single-story houses at a military base in Singye County, North Hwanghae Province, were destroyed by floods between July 20 and 23.

With a large number of homes presumed to have been inhabited by key personnel operating the military base heavily damaged, it is estimated that thousands of people were displaced and there may have been casualties.

The military base is known to house artillery units targeting South Korea.

Ichon and Pyangok near Singye County also suffered damage from the floods, with roads and bridges washed away and houses and public buildings damaged.

The floods were analyzed to have occurred when the dam of the Wangdang No. 2 Reservoir on the river flowing around the military base and residential area was damaged, causing the river to suddenly swell.

At the time of the floods, satellite images captured parts of the river where the reservoir is located widening by hundreds of meters compared to usual, NK News reported.

North Korean media outlets have not reported on the flood damage.

However, satellite images taken between July 28 and August 5 captured camps set up with blue and orange tents around the damaged houses in Singye County, suggesting that restoration work led by North Korean authorities is underway.

Previously, Korean Central Television reported that 264.7 mm of rain fell in the Singye area on July 20 to 21, and an additional 207 mm of rain fell on the 23rd.

NK News assessed that the floods occurred suddenly due to human error during the construction or maintenance of the reservoir dam, and that a large scale of damage occurred because residents in the flood path were not properly notified.

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