Lethal flash floods tear through parts of Seoul, Gyeonggi

Social Affairs

Published: 09 Aug. 2022, 17:48 Updated: 09 Aug. 2022, 19:04

Lethal flash floods tear through parts of Seoul, Gyeonggi

Merchants at Namseong Market in Dongjak District, southern Seoul gather garbage on Tuesday as they clean up after Monday's flooding. Dongjak District suffered some of the heaviest rainfall on Monday. [NEWS1]

People were killed or went missing in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province as flash floods unleashed by unprecedented rain wreaked havoc.

Monday's rains broke several records, and they're expected to continue through this week as a seasonal rain front remains stalled over central regions of the Korean Peninsula.

Dongjak District in southern Seoul was hit by 417 millimeters (16.4 inches), exceeding the previous daily record from Aug. 2, 1920, when 354.7 millimeters fell on a single day in the capital. Hourly precipitation in Dongjak reached 137 millimeters between 9 and 10 p.m. Monday, breaking the previous hourly precipitation record of 118.6 milimeters.

Flash floods tore through several parts of the capital area, killing eight people as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the Central Disaster Control Headquarters (CDCA) reported, with an additional six reported missing and nine injured.

In Dongjak District, three women drowned in their residence at approximately 8:29 p.m. on Monday, while a district maintenance worker died in in the process of trying to to repair a fallen electric pole. The CDCA believed he died by electrocution.

A family of three also drowned in their half-basement residence in southern Gwanak District around 9 p.m. before emergency personnel could reach them.

In Gwangju, Gyeonggi, just outside of Seoul, a woman was discovered dead after being swept away, and two people were reported missing after being swept away by an overflowing stream. A landslide in Gwangju also struck a car on the road, killing one and injuring another.

Chaotic scenes unfolded across the city as the rain overwhelmed local drainage capacity and inundated busy traffic arteries.

Waist-high water inundated several roads south of the river, including the Jinheung Apartment intersection in Seocho District, the Samsung Station intersection and the Daechi Station intersection in Gangnam District, forcing drivers and passengers to flee cars and buses.

People stand atop seats at a bus stop in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Monday evening. [MICHAEL LEE]

On Tuesday morning, abandoned vehicles from Monday evening added to congestion during commuting hours.

Subway service for seven Line 9 stations between Nodeul Station and Sapyeong Station, all south of the Han River, was suspended on Monday evening due to flooding.

Floodwater broke through the ceiling of Isu Station on Line 7, forcing trains to pass the station without making a stop.

A city official from Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday’s rain “exceeded the disaster prevention limit” factored into the city’s drainage expansion project in areas south of the river.

The bowl-shaped topography and lower altitude of Gangnam Station compared to nearby Yeoksam Station makes it especially vulnerable to flooding.

Power outages hit several locations in Gangnam District, adding to the woes of workers and residents in the area.

Vehicles lie abandoned on Monday late evening after being submerged by a flash flood near Gangnam Station. [MICHAEL LEE]

Joanne Kim described Monday’s rain as “one of the most nerve-racking” experiences of her life because her mother was stranded overnight in an office building with other colleagues without power or a way to get home.

“The power went out in her building, so she couldn’t even contact me as her phone battery ran out,” Kim said. “After 12 hours of waiting, I finally got hold of her. She said all the cars in the underground parking lot had flooded, the elevators had broken, and the whole street was without power as well,” Kim added.

“She waited in the darkness with no air conditioning or sleep,” Kim said, describing the experience as “straight out of a horror movie.”

Karleta Peterson, an American teacher who works in Daechi-dong, Gangnam District — home to many hagwon (cram schools) — described traffic chaos near her workplace as she tried to go home in the middle of the flood at 10 p.m. on Monday, when she got off work.

“I saw my usual bus flooded and my students wading in water that came up almost to their hips as I walked towards the train station,” Peterson said.

She also described her chaotic commute home.

“I transferred to Line 9 subway, but the train stopped at Sinnonhyeon Station, where everyone was kicked off,” she said. “They made an announcement that no more trains were coming, so the whole situation turned into a mass rush for the exit.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, second and third from left, inspect flood damage in Sillim-dong, Gwanak District, southern Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

City officials said that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon returned to work at 10 p.m. Monday to coordinate the city’s relief efforts.

President Yoon Suk-yeol received regular updates at home on Monday evening and convened a disaster response meeting at the Central Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul on Tuesday morning, according to the presidential office.

Yoon originally intended to go in person to the CDCA on Monday night to oversee the government’s response to the flooding, but was unable to leave his residence in Seocho District due to flooding on roads around his Acrovista apartment building.

The president issued a directive to government ministries and agencies to delay the start of the workday for civil servants to alleviate morning traffic congestion and to prepare special measures for residents living in vulnerable areas, including precautionary evacuations.

Both Yoon and Oh also conducted visited affected areas of Seoul later on Tuesday to inspect flood damage.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]