North Korean officials are operating a “central command team” to handle “state emergency measures” such as flood damage relief, state media reported on Tuesday.

The announcement came after devastating floods hit the country’s northeast last week, destroying more than 1,000 houses and forcing 5,000 people to evacuate.

“The central team for guiding the project for recovery from flood damage is staffed by officials of the Cabinet, ministries and national institutions,” according to the English version of the article carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The Korean version referred to the group as a “central command team” (중앙지휘조). 

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