Five Dead In South Korea As Heavy Rain Lashes Several Provinces

Torrential rains have battered South Korea, leaving at least five dead and causing widespread infrastructure damage. The heaviest rainfall was recorded in the south.

At least five people have been killed in South Korea due to the heavy rain that is lashing the nation, particularly the southern region, according to local media reports in Seoul. The heaviest rainfall was received in three regions — Geumsan in South Chungcheong province, Chupungnyeong in North Chungcheong, and Gunsan in North Jeolla, according to the weather department of Korea, as per news agency AFP.

A number of areas in the centre of the South Korean region have received nearly 200 mm of rain a day. Meanwhile, Guemsan is reported to have received 100 mm rain in an hour, which is more than 10% of the area’s average annual precipitation, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.“I ask that people refrain from going to underground parking spaces, underpasses, and streams during heavy rainfall,” Interior Minister Lee Sang-min was quoted as saying in a statement by South China Morning Post.

Heavy damage has been inflicted on the infrastructure in South Korea due to the torrential rain. More than 3,500 people have been displaced. The national rail service, Korail, said that it has suspended ITX-Saemaeul and Mugunghwa (class) trains on six central region routes, and is operating KTX Bullet trains running at reduced speeds in some areas.

According to the Interior Ministry, the heavy rainfall has led to four deaths, AFP reported. A body was found inside a flooded elevator of a studio in Nonsan, South Chungcheong. Another one was found to be stuck as sewerage in Daegu. One man was found dead in his car three hours after the vehicle was swept away in the stream in North Chungcheong. The fourth case was reported, where an elderly man in his 70s passed away after his house collapsed due to a landslide in Seocheon. The man was moved to a hospital but confirmed dead later, Yonhap news agency reported. The fifth death was reported from South Chungcheong, where a woman in her 60s suffered a cardiac arrest during a landslide.

Landslide warnings for more than 50 areas have been issued.

North Korea Opens Dam Amid Heavy Rain In South Korea

Yonhap quoted Seoul’s environment ministry as saying that despite the existing risk of flooding due to heavy rainfall, North Korea appears to have released water from a dam near the border of the two Koreas. “On the morning of July 9, we detected signs of partial discharge from North Korea’s Hwanggang Dam upstream in the Imjin River basin. The information was immediately shared with related organizations such as military units and local governments through a direct hotline, and we have conducted patrols downstream," the environment ministry was quoted as saying by NK News.