Heavy rain which pounded North Korea last week seriously damaged coal mines, power production and railway lines, the state news agency said Wednesday, in its second such report in three days.

The downpours from July 12 to 15 flooded dozens of pits in the west and washed away hundreds of thousands of tons of stored coal, the agency said.

Bridges were destroyed and railways wrecked by landslides in Sunchon, Tokchon and Pukchang, while production has halted at mines in the Hamnam and Chonnae complexes since there is no power to pump out floodwater, it added.

The agency said Sunday that floods triggered by the torrential rain had washed away homes, roads and farmland and caused unspecified casualties.

It said more than 20,000 hectares of farmland was destroyed or submerged nationwide.

Earlier this month, state media said a tropical storm that hit the country in June had caused casualties and left more than 150 homes and farmland destroyed or submerged.

After decades of deforestation to create arable land or provide firewood, the impoverished North is particularly vulnerable to flooding. In 2007 it reported at least 600 dead or missing from devastating floods.

Earlier this year, the North appealed to the U.S. and other countries for food aid but Washington hasn't yet announced its decision.

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