Typhoon Lingling kills 5 in North Korea

Seoul, Sep 9 (IANS) At least five people were killed and nearly 50,000 hectares of farmland destroyed as typhoon Lingling hit North Korea, state-run media reported on Monday.

Lingling, the 13th typhoon of the season in the Pacific, passed through the country late Saturday with winds blowing up to more than 100 kmph along with heavy rain, Efe news reported.

Three people were also injured, Pyongyang’s KCNA said.

The typhoon had "completely or partly destroyed or inundated" some 460 houses and 15 blocks of public buildings and inundated some 46,200 hectares of farmland, said KCNA.

North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmum newspaper urged the citizens to tackle the damages as soon as possible.

The newspaper further said the government was working to resolve power cut issues in the provinces of South Hwanghae and North Hwanghae. Work was also underway to restore roads, bridges and railway lines that were damaged by the typhoon.

Paechon and Chongdan in South Hwanghae near the inter-Korean border were the most affected regions, according to Rodong Sinmum.

Rodong Sinmum reported that a day before the typhoon was to make landfall, North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un presided over an emergency meeting to coordinate preparations with the military to mitigate the disaster.