Estimation of flood damage to rice production in North Korea in 1995

Abstract

It was reported that western North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) suffered from heavy flooding due to unprecedented rainfall from July to August 1995. Many rivers reportedly flooded and rice plants in paddy fields were washed away by deluges, although details of damage have not been reported outside North Korea. Through use of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data, the damage to paddy fields in western North Korea was investigated. It was estimated that at least 2.75 105 ha of paddy fields, which corresponded to 42 per cent of the total area of paddy fields in North Korea, were damaged by floods. The total rice crop in western North Korea in 1995 was 2.21 105 metric tons, which was approximately 5.30 105 tons less than the total rice production recorded in 1987.