A storm and heavy rains in North Korea over the last two months have left dozens of people dead, injured or missing, while thousands more are homeless, state media said on Monday.

The impoverished communist state was hit by a tropical storm in June and heavy rains last month which together destroyed 2,900 homes, leaving about 8,000 people with nowhere to live, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The rains flooded farmland, raising concerns about this year's grain production.

Strong winds and floods also toppled 300 electricity poles and 8,400 roadside trees while 170 public buildings and factories collapsed, the agency said.

North Korea has relied heavily on international aid to feed its 24 million people since natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its economy in the mid 1990s. Pyongyang has stepped up appeals for food aid this year.

After decades of deforestation to create land for arable farming and provide firewood, the impoverished North is particularly vulnerable to flooding.

In 2007 it reported at least 600 dead or missing after it was hit by devastating floods.

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