At least eight people have died after heavy rainfall in South Korea. In parts of the capital Seoul, meteorologists even recorded the highest amounts of precipitation in decades. Hundreds of buildings were damaged, the power supply partially collapsed, landslides were caused and roads were flooded, authorities said on Tuesday. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes.
The Civil Protection Center raised the highest alert level. The KMA Weather Service has issued a warning for the greater Seoul area of 26 million people and parts of nearby provinces. The heavy rainfall in the state center was expected to last at least until Wednesday.
“Like the movie ‘Titanic'”
At least nine people were injured, authorities said, and seven others were missing. Many of those affected were housed in schools, gymnasiums and other community facilities. 31-year-old office worker Lim Na Kyung told Reuters how water entered the building where she was staying Monday night. She felt like she was in the 1997 movie Titanic.
“I had to go higher and higher as the building was sinking at a rapid rate,” said the mother of two. She was trapped with 40 other people. She spent the night in a Pilates center on the fourth floor.
Global warming worsens the situation
While heavy summer rainfall is common in South Korea, such a sharp increase in precipitation and frequent downpours cannot be explained without climate change, a weather official said. The phenomenon is becoming more common due to longer summers due to global warming.
Feared for more heavy rain
The capital region has been hit by heavy rainfall since Monday. The weather bureau announced further heavy rains. The highest amount of rainfall in 80 years was measured in Seoul’s southern Dongjak district, the national Yonhap news agency reported.
At one point, more than 141 liters of rain per square meter per hour fell there. President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered authorities to evacuate people from areas most at risk of flooding.
Multiple deaths reported
In the area, a city worker is said to have been killed when he tried to clear a fallen tree. He is said to have died as a result of an electric shock. Three people drowned in their basement apartment in the Gwanak district. In the same neighborhood, a body was recovered from an apartment that was also under water. A body was found under the rubble of a collapsed bus stop in Gyeonggi province, and another person was killed in a landslide.
North Korea also issued a heavy rain warning on Tuesday. According to North Korean radio reports, the warning concerns the southern parts of the country. There were no reports of damage in the largely isolated country.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
