Relentless heavy monsoon rain is leading to floods and landslides in South Korea. Thousands of people evacuated due to the downpours, which began on Sunday (July 9). This rainfall has caused widespread floods and deadly landslides across the country.
This powerful rainfall swept several regions in the South East Asian country, knocking down trees, burying homes, cutting the power supply of tens of thousands of residents, and canceling trains and flights. Thousands of people in the country would suffer due to devastating heavy rains.
The Government of South Korea reported that the monsoon rain claimed the lives of over two dozen people, and several citizens went missing this week. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, 26 people died, and ten citizens are missing in the affected regions. The central and southeastern areas were affected by the heavy rainfall.
The local government evacuated over 7000 residents from these regions following a prompted emergency response from the Korea Meteorological Administration. According to the administration, monsoon rain would get heavier in the next couple of days, especially in the central and southwestern parts of the country.
Affected Areas
Nonsan and North Chungcheong witnessed the worst of this monsoon rain, causing several deaths and damages. Thousands of residents have been relocated to temporary shelters in Nonsan and other central towns as their homes are engulfed by water.
Two citizens died in this region following a building collapse, and five reported deaths were from this region. When the Miho River flooded an underpass in North Chungcheong, 19 vehicles got trapped, and a person died. The rescue mission is ongoing in this region to help the trapped passengers and the drivers.
Prime Minister of South Korea, Han Duck Soo, has called for military aid in the ongoing rescue mission. President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently in Ukraine, has requested the Prime Minister to utilize all the available resources to fight the disaster.
“If there is even a slight possibility of danger, overreaction is the principle of this heavy-rain response,” the Prime Minister said.
