February blizzard batters Seoul and Gangwon

Social Affairs

Published: 22 Feb. 2024, 17:45 Updated: 22 Feb. 2024, 17:46

February blizzard batters Seoul and Gangwon

Public officials from Seodaemun District Office in western shovel the snow-covered road in their neighborhood on Thursday morning after heavy snowfall overnight. [NEWS1]

A late February snowstorm hit the greater Seoul and Gangwon areas from Wednesday to Thursday, resulting in dozens of car crashes and traffic chaos during morning rush hour.

Seoul saw 13.8 centimeters (5.43 inches) of snowfall as of 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

Heavy snow disrupted subway services on lines No. 2, 5 and 7 on the same day.

Line No. 2 — the city’s only circle line — suffered signal malfunctions on aboveground tracks. The glitch caused delays of 20 to 25 minutes.

Subway conductors warned passengers that train cars might shake or stop due to slippery outdoor tracks.

Subway service operator Seoul Metro believed snow on the tracks interrupted the power supply.

Passengers crowd the platform of Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, in central Seoul on Thursday morning. The line suffered delays during morning rush hour because of heavy snowfall. The information display reads that real-time operational status cannot be shared. [YONHAP]

The operator informed public transit users that all of No. 5 line was experiencing delays of up to 25 minutes through its official website at 7 a.m.

“Frozen train tracks at the train car garage in Gangdong District, [eastern Seoul] have prevented operators from delivering train cars to stations on time,” an official from Seoul Metro said.

“I have contacted my office that I will be arriving late at work [because of traffic delays],” 41-year-old commuter Park told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate paper of Korea JoongAng Daily, at 8:10 a.m.

He'd spent over 20 minutes on the platform at Gongdeok Station in western Seoul to hop on the line No. 5 train.

Inside the station, information displays meant to show real-time operation status said that the train status could not be provided at the moment.

Subway line No. 7 faced 10 to 25-minute delays along its route.

A truck is flipped its side on the road in Paju, Gyeonggi on Thursday. [GYEONGGI-DO FIRE SERVICES]

There were plenty of car accidents, too.

A man in his 30s was killed after he was run over by his own skidding car in a slippery alleyway around 4 a.m. on Thursday in Geumcheon District in southern Seoul.

The police said the victim attempted to stop his out-of-control car with his body.

Also, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) hit a taxi in the rear at 1:20 a.m. at the entry point of Bugak Tunnel in Seongbuk District in northern Seoul. The accident injured a taxi driver and a passenger.

The weather authority lifted the heavy snow advisory in effect in Seoul since 8 p.m. on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Heavy snow advisories can be issued when over five centimeters of snow accumulate in 24 hours.

Gyeonggi had seen between 4.7 and 13.4 centimeters of snowfall as of 8 a.m. on Thursday.

In Suwon, southern Gyeonggi, dozens of cars on the line bound for Seoul were moving at a crawl after two vehicles collided.

Gyeonggi-do Fire Services said a truck flipped around 5:31 a.m. after driving on icy roads in Paju, northern Gyeonggi.

Also, 9.8 centimeters of snowfall blanketed Incheon, according to the weather authorities.

Heavy snowfall covers cars parked at an apartment complex in Gangwon on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Over 60 centimeters of snowfall pounded Gangwon, resulting in dozens of traffic accidents and electricity blackouts.

Some 34 people were injured in 24 traffic accidents due to snowy and icy road conditions between 6 a.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, Gangwon State Fire Headquarters said.

Four of the injured were hospitalized after an SUV collided with a 1-ton truck in Hwacheon County on Wednesday morning.

In Samcheok City, a pine tree bent by the snow damaged an electrical cord, cutting power to a nearby neighborhood for more than two hours on Wednesday.

The KMA forecast that the mountainous region in Gangwon will get 10 to 30 more centimeters of snow through Friday, while inland areas will receive around 2 to 7 centimeters of extra snow.

The weather agency said it would maintain heavy snow advisories and warnings across the province as of 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Heavy snow warnings can be issued when more than 20 centimeters and 30 centimeters of snow are expected to drop in the next 24 hours in lowland and mountainous areas, respectively.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, LEE BO-RAM [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]