Flood Disaster Breaks Weather Records

The torrential rain from July 31 around the central area and the hurricane Olga are very rare atmospheric phenomena, breaking most disaster records.
First of all, the three day rain measuring 753 millimeters from July 31 to August 3 in Cholwon, Kangwon province easily broke the previous record of 659 millimeters in Haenam, south Cholla province, set in 1981. It is even more than the four day rain record of 747 millimeters set in Kanghwa, Kyonggi province in August last year.
Moreover, it is only 40 mm short of Seoul's five day rain record of 792 mm in August 1998.
Cholwon's annual average rainfall during the 1990s measures 1,358 mm which means it received half of its average amount of annual rain over three days this week. Cholwon also marked three consecutive days of rain over 200 mm, for the first time in Korean meteorological history.
South Cholla province's Wando experienced strong winds of 46 meters per second Tuesday, the fifth fastest winds on record and the strongest since 1992 all over the country.
Bong Hwa-shik:trojans@joongang.co.kr