Pyongyang, North Korea ? More than 100 people are dead or missing in North Korea due to floods and landslides, an aid group operating in the communist nation said today.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said heavy rains last week and this week had caused flash floods that totally or partially destroyed 11,524 houses, leaving more than 9,000 families homeless.

More than 100 people were dead or missing, the group said in a statement, without giving further details on casualties. The damage has cut off telephone connections, making collecting reliable information difficult, it said.

“A lot of people have been displaced. They are trying to find out who is actually missing,” Jaap Timmer, head of the International Red Cross in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, told The Associated Press by telephone.

The North’s official media has reported on the weather affecting the country, but has not mentioned any damage or casualties.