The impact of the massive explosion that devastated the town of Ryongchon in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be felt for months and, in some cases, years to come, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said today as it launched a 1.6 million Swiss franc appeal.
The appeal seeks to address short-term and long-term needs of up to 10,000 people for 12 months. The International Federation is calling for support to replenish Red Cross relief stocks needed in the emergency phase, to meet the household needs of homeless and destitute families for a period of four months, and to provide long-term material and medical support for the seriously injured. The Federation is also appealing for support to integrate rehabilitation and reconstruction activities into existing programmes of the DPRK Red Cross.
“The explosion has destroyed or seriously damaged around 40 per cent of the town. The suffering and destitution we are witnessing is not something an emergency relief operation alone can deal with,” Niels Juel, the Federation’s Regional Disaster Management Delegate said. “Thousands of people have lost most or all of what they had and they were already struggling. They must be given a chance to recover and that requires sustained assistance.”
For now their most urgent needs are food, basic hygiene materials, kitchen equipment, clothing and fuel for cooking. The disruption of the water supply by the explosion must also be addressed, Juel said, and a Red Cross intervention has begun. After the blast, thousands of kitchen sets, blankets, water containers, tarpaulins, water purification tablets and first-aid kits were distributed quickly from a Red Cross relief centre at Sinuiju, five kilometres from the disaster, but stocks are now seriously depleted and needs continue.
Support for the overwhelmed health-care system is another immediate priority, Juel said. Medical supplies, including antibiotics, basic essential drugs and anaesthetics, have been distributed by the DPRK Red Cross and the World Health Organization but there is continuing need. Over the coming days, the county hospital in Ryongchon and the provincial hospital in Sinuiju, as well as six smaller hospitals and clinics in the area, will receive more relief and medical relief items from the Red Cross central warehouse in Pyongyang.