Extreme rainfall forces road and subway closures across greater Seoul

Social Affairs

Published: 18 Jul. 2024, 10:44 Updated: 18 Jul. 2024, 11:43

Extreme rainfall forces road and subway closures across greater Seoul

Firefighters rescue individuals who were trapped in a building following a nearby road flooding in Paju on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Torrential downpours drenched central parts of the nation, prompting heavy rain alerts in the greater Seoul area and parts of Chungcheong and Gangwon. Many roads were closed, leading to substantial inconveniences for commuters.

The heavy rain has resulted in the closure of 29 rivers in Seoul, the entire Dongbu Expressway in both directions, part of the Seongsu direction of the internal circulation road (from Majang to Seongdong) and the road under Jeungsangyo Bridge.

In Seoul, sections of subway Line 1 and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line have temporarily halted operations due to the heavy downpour.

Vehicles move slowly on national route 1 in Munsan-eup, Paju, Gyeonggi, as the road is submerged with water. [YONHAP]

At 2:25 a.m., a landslide in Baekseok-eup, Yangju, Gyeonggi, caused a retaining wall to collapse, burying a house.

While no one was injured, part of the house was destroyed, forcing two residents to evacuate.

As of 7 a.m., rainfall rates of 30 to 60 millimeters per hour pounded the capital region. A heavy rain advisory is in effect for Seoul, Incheon and most parts of Gyeonggi, while heavy rain watches have been issued for Gangwon and parts of South Chungcheong.

In Paju, extreme downpours reached up to 75.1 millimeters per hour in the early morning hours. From 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Paju, Gyeonggi, recorded a staggering 350.2 millimeters of rainfall.

At 4:50 a.m., fire authorities received a report of a car sinking in the city. While four cars were submerged, all five passengers managed to escape, authorities said. Firefighters also rescued two women trapped in a nearby building.

A landslide struck Unsan-myeon, Seosan, South Chungcheong at 10:04 a.m., burying a man in his 90s. He was rescued and is reportedly recovering without any major injuries, according to fire authorities. Earlier, two people were rescued from a flooded house in the city.

As of 7:50 a.m., the Ministry of the Interior and Safety upgraded the Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Center from Stage 1 to Stage 2.

The heavy rain alert level has been elevated from "attention" to "caution," the second highest in the four-tier system, while the landslide warning level has been raised to "serious," the highest level, for Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi and Gangwon as of 7:30 a.m.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]