Accidents, injuries follow heavy snow in greater Seoul

Social Affairs

Published: 09 Jan. 2024, 18:31 Updated: 09 Jan. 2024, 18:50

Accidents, injuries follow heavy snow in greater Seoul

Tourists in hanbok, or Korean traditional dress, take photos near Gwanghwamun in Jongno District, central Seoul, as snow falls in the area on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Cars skidded and passersby slipped on icy roads as heavy snow pounded the peninsula on Tuesday. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety raised its four-tier heavy snow crisis alert by one notch from the lowest “interest” to “caution” at 10 a.m. the same day.

Commuter chaos expected as snow blankets the greater Seoul area

Fourteen-vehicle and seven-vehicle pileups occurred separately on the second Jungbu Expressway in Icheon, Gyeonggi, at around 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday. According to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police and fire authorities, 15 people were injured, three severely.

Traffic in the area was restricted through 3:30 p.m.

In Bupyeong, Gyeonggi, a 60-something-year-old woman slipped on black ice and broke her arm at around 11:10 a.m., while a man in his 70s hurt his back after falling in Incheon Grand Park at around 11:18 a.m.

Heavy snow advisories issued across the greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi, and Gangwon, on Tuesday morning were partially lifted in the afternoon.

However, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) expects 2 to 8 centimeters (0.8 to 3.1 inches) of snow will pile up in southern Gyeonggi and Gangwon through Wednesday.

Chungcheong and Jeolla will see around 3 to 8 centimeters of snow during the same period, with heavily affected areas expecting over 10 centimeters of snow through Wednesday.

Mountainous areas of Jeju will see 3 to 8 centimeters of snow.

The KMA issued a heavy warning advisory in Seoul at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, anticipating over 5 centimeters of snow to accumulate within 24 hours. The KMA explained that it issued the advisories in advance, expecting much snow to accumulate due to a low-pressure air mass.

This is the second time the advisory was issued in the capital this year. Around 2.5 centimeters of snow had accumulated in Seoul as of 3 p.m.

According to experts, the unusually heavy snow in the capital is due to the development of a low-pressure air mass near the Yellow Sea. The capital saw 6 centimeters of snow pile up on Saturday night.

The low-pressure air mass is believed to have developed around the Yellow Sea lately as sea surface temperatures surrounding the peninsula this year have been warmer due to El Nino and global warming.

Ban Ki-seong, chief of K Weather, said relatively warm temperatures around the Korean Peninsula are responsible for the heavy snow.

As snow continued throughout the day, the Seoul city government announced it would extend the subway's evening rush hour — when trains run more frequently — by 30 minutes from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The city government also strengthened its snow response, deploying 8,488 personnel and 1,168 snowplows to manage the roads and traffic.

Snowfall in the greater Seoul area is expected to stop Tuesday night. However, parts of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeolla and Chuncheong will see snow through Wednesday noon, and Gyeongsang and Jeju will see snow or rain through Wednesday afternoon.

Temperatures on Wednesday will be higher than usual, hovering between minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit) to 4 degrees Celsius.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, JEONG EUN-HYE [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]