Fourteen-Month-Old Baby Killed in Yeongju Landslide: Northern Gyeongsangbuk-do Region Suffers from the Continuing Rain

On the morning of June 30, firefighters conduct a rescue operation in a house that collapsed in Sangmang-dong, Yeongju-si in Gyeongsangbuk-do. Courtesy of the Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters

A fourteen-month-old baby girl was found from a house buried in a landslide in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, but she was in cardiac arrest when transported to the hospital.

According to the Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters on June 30, around 4:43 a.m. Friday, a house collapsed in a landslide in Sangmang-dong, Yeongju-si, burying a fourteen-month-old baby in the house.

More than seventy police officers and firefighters and two excavators were assigned to the scene, and they were able to rescue nine of the ten family members. The baby girl was discovered in cardiac arrest two hours later at 6:40 a.m. She was transported to a nearby hospital, but did not revive.

In Sangmang-dong, 43 residents from fifteen households evacuated because of the landslide. A heavy rain warning has been issued in Yeongju, which, official records state, has received 161mm of rain since June 29. According to the measurements of the automatic weather station (AWS), Isan, Yeongju received 248.5mm of rain and Buseok, Yeongju 80mm. Due to rising water levels of the Nakdonggang River, a flood advisory has been issued at Wolhogyo Bridge, Yeongju.

Other areas in the northern Gyeongsangbuk-do region also received over 150mm of rain: Bonghwa 162mm, and Mungyeong (Dongno) 156mm. Streets and houses were flooded, and authorities rescued some residents who were isolated by the surging water. Four cities (si) and counties (gun) including Bonghwa temporarily evacuated 62 people from 54 houses in case of floods and landslides.

As of 7 a.m. Friday, a total of 91 cases of damages were reported due to the monsoon rain in Gyeongsangbuk-do, including one cardiac arrest, ten rescues of isolated people, and 21 cases of flooded roads. The majority of the reports came in from Yeongju with 51 cases, followed by Bonghwa with 21, Mungyeong, Yecheon, Andong, Ulleung, and Sangju with two cases each and Cheongdo, Gumi and Uiseong with one case each.