Heavy rain across large swathes of North Korea has caused widespread flooding and killed dozens of people, state media reported, with warnings of more damage still to come.

The downpours have been rolling over the impoverished country for more than a week, sweeping away crops and destroying buildings, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in reports over the weekend.

As of Saturday, 88 people had died and 134 had been injured, KCNA said. It reported that more than 5,000 houses had been destroyed or damaged and 12,030 homes inundated, leaving nearly 63,000 people homeless.

And the torrential rain persisted through Sunday, causing further chaos.

The highest numbers of deaths so far from the flooding were reported in areas of South Phyongan Province, northeast of the capital, Pyongyang.