It has been reported that the residents of Ryucho Island, an island located on the Yalu River between Sinuiju City in North Korea and Dandong in Liaoning Province in China, are suffering great hardships after losing their livelihoods due to the flooding that occurred at the end of July. Furthermore, the source said that the residents of Ryucho Island are becoming increasingly anxious as they do not even have the means to prepare for winter.
A source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on the 11th, “Many people in Ryucho Island were unable to evacuate and drowned during the flood last month,” and “The people of Ryucho Island are complaining that it is too difficult to live in Ryucho-ri due to the repeated flood damage.”
Ryuchori is located on Ryuchodo Island on the border between North Korea and China, and is known as a vulnerable area to flood damage whenever the Yalu River overflows during the rainy season or heavy rain.
According to sources, the local residents make a living through fishing and farming. One resident of Ryucho Island, who used to make a living by catching freshwater fish, drying them, and transporting them to downtown Sinuiju, lost his fishing boat and fishing gear in the recent flood, and with no way to make a living right away, he started going around to small farms and livestock farms to process manure.
Another resident, Ryu Cho-do, who had brought goods from Sinuiju and was running a small grocery store, was unable to do business because all of his goods were washed away by the flood. The resident said that he tried to run the store again by purchasing a few groceries with the money he barely managed to save during the flood, but it was not enough.
Furthermore, most of the residents of Ryucho Island lost all their property in the flood, so even if they have items, they cannot buy them with money, making it difficult to make money through business, the source said.
A source said, “The residents of this place (Ryucho Island) have had their crops and livestock damaged by the flood, so it has become difficult to even make a living through farming,” adding, “Ryucho Island used to be a place where radishes, cabbages, green onions, and garlic were abundant, and they would sell them to the city of Sinuiju or send them there, but they are all submerged in water.”
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the current residents of Ryucho Island are extremely worried as they have not made any preparations for the coming winter.
A source said, “It’s the season when we should be preparing for winter right now, but we have no money and all our assets have gone, so we are left stranded in the cold winter,” adding, “Most households are barely surviving on one meal a day, and they are at a loss as to what to eat and how to get through this fall and winter.”
He said, “The government has only given instructions to guarantee everything, but the Ryucho Party cannot do everything anyway.”
It has been reported that North Korean authorities provided daily necessities such as one mal of corn (about 4 kg, for a family of three) as well as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, a domestically produced blanket, spoons, chopsticks, tableware, a stove (cooking utensil), a jenggaebi (large basket), a bucket (a water container with a handle), and a sorangi (basin) to the residents of Ryucho Island who suffered flood damage, as well as one pair of sneakers and slippers made at the Sinuiju Shoe Factory per person.
“People here are responding that this is not enough to make a living,” the source said. “They are sighing, saying that if the government builds a sloppy hut by this fall, they will have to start over from there.”
Meanwhile, the only bridge connecting the island to the mainland collapsed due to this flood and has not yet been repaired. According to an actual source, “The only bridge connecting Ryucho Island to the mainland is a rope bridge (swing bridge) with sparse planks, but due to the recent flood damage, only iron ropes and rebar remain.”
When the residents of Ryucho-ri brought in supplies from Sinuiju City, they mainly used ferries operated by paying workers because it was difficult to transport them through this rope bridge. It is said that even now that the bridge has collapsed, these ferries are still the main means of transporting supplies. However, the source said that due to the current difficult situation for residents due to flood damage, the ferry fares have become slightly cheaper than before.
Meanwhile, the source also reported that, “The government is guaranteeing the use of the Coast Guard’s rubber boats twice a day, in the morning and afternoon, until the restoration deadline in October, so the movement of goods and people is proceeding relatively smoothly.”
Source: www.dailynk.com
