37 people dead, 9 missing across Korea as monsoon season rages

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37 people dead, 9 missing across Korea as monsoon season rages

Published: 16 Jul. 2023, 18:50 Updated: 17 Jul. 2023, 16:03

A bus, which was among 15 vehicles trapped inside an underpass in Osong-eup of Cheongju, North Chungcheong, on Saturday after a nearby river overflowed into it, is recovered on Sunday amid a draining operation. At least nine deaths have been linked to the incident. [YONHAP]

At least 46 people died or went missing while thousands of others evacuated their homes as massive monsoon rains hammered the nation last week, causing severe flooding and landslides.

As of 6 p.m. on Sunday, local authorities announced that 37 people have died and nine people have gone missing over the past week, mostly in the central and southeastern parts of the country.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, 19 deaths were logged in North Gyeongsang, followed by 12 in North Chungcheong, four in South Chungcheong and one in Sejong.

At least nine people were missing, mostly in North Gyeongsang.

More than 20 people were injured.

Firefighters and soldiers from the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command conduct a search and rescue operation at the underpass on Sunday. [YONHAP]

With search and rescue operations underway in at least five different areas, authorities said the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days, likely bringing the total number of deaths for this year’s monsoon season much higher than that of previous years.

This year’s total number of deaths and missing people caused by heavy rains and typhoons is already the highest since 2011 when 78 people were counted, statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety show.

Last year, 30 people died or went missing by the same standard.

And with even more torrential rains forecast to pour down on the same regions that were the most severely hit last week on Monday and Tuesday, the national weather agency warned residents not to let their guards down.

Most deaths in North Chungcheong were traced to an underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju, which was submerged by a flooded river on Saturday morning, trapping 15 vehicles inside, including a bus.

By Sunday at 5 p.m., nine people had been found dead at the tunnel site and nine others were rescued. Exactly how many people remain unaccounted for is unknown, Cheongju officials said. Drainage operations were still underway as of Sunday afternoon.

In North Gyeongsang, almost all casualties were connected to a series of landslides in Yecheon County. Nineteen people died and at least eight others were still missing as of Sunday at 5 p.m., North Gyeongsang officials said.

Across the nation, some 8,000 people from 4,600 households in 90 different cities, counties or districts have had to evacuate their homes over the past several days to escape the floods. By Sunday noon, a vast majority still couldn’t return home as heavy rains continued to fall.

Among the evacuees, some 2,400 were in North Gyeongsang, 2,300 in North Chungcheong and 2,000 in South Chungcheong.

At least 149 counts of public property damage have been reported so far, with about one-third concerning damaged river embankments. Many other reports had to do with damaged roads.

In the private sector, at least 124 counts of property damage have been filed with authorities, 33 pertaining to flooded houses. Four reports involving 63 flooded cars were also submitted.

Vast farmlands of crops were also inundated, totaling at least 15,120 hectares (37,362 acres).

Over 200 roads were closed, including 59 in South Chungcheong, 47 in North Chungcheong and 37 in Gyeonggi.

All regular trains crisscrossing the country have been suspended ever since a Mugunghwa train derailed in Cheongju at 10:58 p.m. on Friday. KTX bullet trains have been running slower than usual or canceling schedules passing through Suwon, Gyeonggi and western Daejeon.

At least 20 flights have also been canceled due to the weather.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong recorded 569.5 millimeters (22.4 inches) of rainfall from Thursday until Sunday noon, while nearby Gongju received 510.5 millimeters.

Cheongju recorded 472.5 millimeters of rain during the same period while Iksan in North Jeolla received 499 millimeters and Mungyeong in North Gyeongsang had 484 millimeters.

Weather officials said that rainclouds were expected to once again ascend, starting in the country’s southern regions at a speed of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) per hour from Sunday, bringing exorbitant amounts of rainfall in the Chungcheong regions and North Gyeongsang on Monday and Tuesday.

The owner of a house in Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang, slumps to the ground on Sunday morning after coming back to see it destroyed by a landslide. [YONHAP]

From early Monday morning through the daytime, the Chungcheong regions and North Gyeongsang are predicted to receive 30 millimeters of rain per hour, before getting 30 to 60 millimeters of rain per hour on Tuesday. The hardest hit regions could receive upwards of 80 millimeters per hour, weather officials warned.

In the two-day period, the Chungcheong and southern regions will likely see 100 to 250 millimeters of precipitation in total, and possibly more than 300 millimeters in the most severely impacted areas.

Southern Gyeonggi, southern Gangwon and Jeju are forecast to receive 30 to 120 millimeters of rainfall over Monday and Tuesday, while the Seoul metropolitan area will see 20 to 60 millimeters.

The Seoul metropolitan area, also known as greater Seoul, is composed of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi.

“The regions where accidents occurred due to heavy rainfall are expected to continue experiencing rain,” said Park Jeong-min, a weather analyst at the KMA. “Given the high probability of additional damage resulting from the rain, it is crucial to be thoroughly prepared in order to minimize the impact.”

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was on a weeklong trip to Europe last week, urged authorities to implement swift measures to support victims affected by the monsoon during a videoconference with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday.

Yoon’s senior secretary for press affairs, Kim Eun-hye, briefed reporters that Yoon expressed his condolences to the lost lives and their bereaved families.

The president was also said to have called on local government offices to quickly recognize any signs of waterway backflow or flooding to take preemptive evacuation measures.

In a statement issued through its Facebook account, the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said it expresses its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the people who lost their homes to the flood, adding that it hopes they recover their daily lives.

Japan’s NHK News reported Sunday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent an official letter to the Korean government expressing his sincere condolences as well, saying he wished the affected areas would return to their pre-disaster state.

In Imsil County, North Jeolla, firefighters and police said they were searching for a man in his 50s who went missing on Saturday evening after telling his acquaintances he would “go for a swim” in Okjeong Lake.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]