Record-level heavy rains across South Korea triggered landslides and flooding, forcing the evacuation of more than 900 people in southern regions and submerging roads and buildings Saturday.
No casualties have been reported so far, according to authorities.
Heavy rain warnings were in effect across the southern Gyeongsang and Jeolla regions as of 5 p.m., with more rainfall expected through Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Trucks remain overturned inside a sinkhole on a road in the southeastern city of Busan on Sept. 21, 2024, following heavy rainfall, in this photo provided by fire authorities. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Trucks remain overturned inside a sinkhole on a road in the southeastern city of Busan on Sept. 21, 2024, following heavy rainfall, in this photo provided by fire authorities. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Heavy precipitation drenched South Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces, as well as Gangwon Province, from Friday through Saturday, with Changwon, 296 kilom
eters southeast of Seoul, receiving rainfall of 519.2 millimeters, the southern city of Busan having 390.2 mm, and the southwestern city of Yeosu 399.5 mm.
On Saturday alone, Changwon had 315 mm of rain as of 5 p.m., a record amount for a single day in any September, and Busan received 289.7 mm of precipitation, also a record level.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters reported that 903 people from 581 households in North and South Gyeongsang provinces, Busan, North and South Chungcheong Province and South Jeolla Province were evacuated as of 6 p.m. due to the heavy rains.
The majority of them, 362, were residents of North Gyeongsang Province.
Most of the evacuees — 613 people from 409 households — remained displaced, taking shelter in temporary or community facilities, the government said.
Heavy rains also flooded 83 sections of public roads, leading to 18 incidents of soil loss and the collapse of a retaining wall.
A total of 27 private houses were also inundated, impacting n
early 30 private facilities, such as stores and factories.
This photo provided by the Busan firefighting authority shows an alley in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, submerged in knee-high water after heavy rainfall on Sept. 21, 2024. (PHOTO NOR FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
This photo provided by the Busan firefighting authority shows an alley in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, submerged in knee-high water after heavy rainfall on Sept. 21, 2024. (PHOTO NOR FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
As of Saturday morning, 67 sections of roads in Gangwon and South Gyeongsang provinces and other areas, along with 48 underground roadways, were blocked due to safety concerns.
Additionally, 641 sections of 22 national parks across the nation remained inaccessible.
Parts of the country’s seven rail lines, including the Gyeongbu Line linking Seoul and Busan, have been canceled or suspended.
Passenger ships on multiple sea routes, including those linking the western city of Incheon and northern islands, as well as those in th
e East Sea, have not been operated due to weather conditions.
In Changwon, a utility pole was reported toppled on a road on early Saturday morning, while old burial mounds partly collapsed at a tombs museum in Gimhae due to downpours.
Heavy rain of about 200 mm also flooded dozens of roads and vehicles across Busan, the country’s second-biggest city, and caused a 10-meter-wide sinkhole to open on a road Saturday morning. Two trucks plunged into the hole and overturned.
A car is stranded on a flooded road in Jangsu County of North Jeolla Province after heavy rainfall battered the region on Sept. 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the provincial firefighting authority. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
A car is stranded on a flooded road in Jangsu County of North Jeolla Province after heavy rainfall battered the region on Sept. 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the provincial firefighting authority. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The interior ministry raised the heavy rain warning level from “caution” to “al
ert.”
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo urgently instructed officials to mobilize all available administrative resources to mitigate rain damage and prepare for further heavy rainfall due to the approaching tropical cyclone Pulasan on the southern coast.
“In cases of anticipated damage, police and firefighters should cooperate to preemptively evacuate residents, while public employees should be dispatched to areas at risk of flooding until the heavy rainfall subsides,” he said.
The weather agency said more heavy rainfall may drench the country through Sunday, with up to 100 mm expected in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province as Pulasan approached South Korea.
As of the afternoon, Pulasan was passing between the southern resort island of Jeju and the southern coast, weakening from a typhoon into a tropical cyclone.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
