The International Federation of Red Cross will conduct anti-disaster training next month for North Korean residents in areas that face repeated flooding, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday.

"The Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter and Settlement Awareness training will be carried out for some 500 residents in North Hamkyong Province sometime next month in preparation for possible floods this year," Voice of America said, citing an IFRC report released the previous day.

In early September last year, the province was pounded by Typhoon Lionrock, which North Korean news outlets said left nearly 70,000 residents homeless. More than 130 North Koreans also reportedly died with about 400 missing in the North's worst-ever flood.

"The purpose of the PASSA training is to raise capabilities to efficiently cope with calamities," the report said.

To that end, studies on the frequency of the occurrence of such cases and their effects will be made, and maps showing areas safe from disaster will be produced, according to the report.

The IFRC will also distribute some 1,000 copies of guidelines on early warning and evacuation to local residents.

In particular, the agency has already prepared relief goods such as blankets, cooking utensils, sanitary fittings and tents, the report said.

The IFRC conducted similar training between March and May for some 500 North Korean Red Cross officials, volunteers and residents in the provincial towns of Hoeryong, Musan and Yonsa, hit hardest by the devastating floods last year. (Yonhap)