North Korea inundated by heavy rains

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PYONGYANG, North Korea, July 30 (UPI) -- As much as 9 inches of rain fell on parts of North Korea by Monday morning, leaving at least 88 people dead amid heavy flooding, the government said.

North Korean media reported that many of the national reservoirs in the country "have exceeded full water levels and are at risk of overflowing," reports South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Rains over the span of 21 hours dumped as much as 9 inches of rain, North Korean state media adds. Thousands of homes were destroyed during heavy flooding that began last week, leaving countless of impoverished North Koreans homeless.

"Irrigation reservoirs and other smaller ones in both North and South Hwanghae provinces are at risk of flooding," Yonhap added.

Pyongyang has depended on substantial foreign food assistance. A U.S. deal for food in exchange for a moratorium on certain military and nuclear tests failed when Pyongyang tried to send a long-range rocket into orbit in April.