Aid officials feared the loss of crop land could seriously hinder the North's ability to feed its people, causing widespread famine.
On August 15, 2007, North Korea announced it had been hit extremely hard by floods after a solid week of torrential rains, and that it desperately needed assistance from the outside world.
Television footage from North Korea showed citizens in Pyongyang wading in knee- and waist-deep waters along the capital's grand boulevards.
[6] The North is especially susceptible to bad weather because of a vicious circle where people strip hillsides of natural vegetation to create more arable land to grow food — increasing the risk of floods.
[citation needed] On August 23, 2007, a convoy of 34 trucks carrying emergency food rations, water and other goods left South Korea for the North.