Heavy Rain Forced 33 Families to Evacuate in Seoul and Busan: Houses and Vehicles Flooded

On July 11, when a special weather report was issued in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon, citizens holding umbrellas wait for the green light at the Sejong-daero crossroads in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Kwon Do-hyun

Torrential downpours continued to pound the nation causing damage in all corners of the country.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (Central Disaster Headquarters) on July 12, around 3:34 p.m. Tuesday, a 68-year-old woman went missing near Hakjangcheon River in Sasang-gu, Busan. The police and firefighters are still searching for the missing person.

Earlier at 9:03 a.m. Tuesday, a 75-year-old man was found dead in Yeoju, Gyeonggi. He is believed to have taken a fatal misstep while walking along Soyangcheon River. The Central Disaster Headquarters classified the case as a safety accident and not a casualty due to the heavy downpour.

In Wonju, Gangwon and Gwangju, Gyeonggi, six houses were flooded temporarily. In Haeundae-gu, Busan, seven vehicles were flooded, and in Buk-gu, Daegu, a 200m stretch of wall surrounding a demolition site collapsed, destroying 29 vehicles.

In Suyeong-gu, Busan, 220 apartments suffered a blackout.

At one time, 52 residents of 33 households in ten cities (si) and counties (gun) located in the four metropolitan cities and provinces of Seoul, Busan, Gwangju and Gyeongsangbuk-do had to evacuate. Among them, 42 people from 26 families have yet to return home.

As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, access was blocked on nineteen roads in Busan and Gyeonggi, as well as in 153 locations adjacent streams and rivers including 27 sites in Seoul, and 88 waterside parking lots. Authorities have also blocked entrance to 455 trails in seventeen national parks including Jirisan Mountain.

Due to the heavy rain in Seoul, the operation of the Seoul Metro Line 1 was partially suspended for sixteen minutes on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, a special weather report for heavy rains was issued in the coastal areas of Jeollanam-do and the southern coastal areas of Gyeongsangnam-do, and in some places, heavy rains of 20-50mm/h poured down accompanied by sudden gusts of wind and thunder and lightning.

Heavy downpours of 30-60mm/h accompanied by sudden gusts of wind and thunder and lightning are expected to fall in the southern region until Wednesday afternoon.

The Central Disaster Headquarters kept the crisis alert at “alert” along with an emergency level-2 response since Tuesday afternoon. The Headquarters chief (Han Chang-seob, vice minister of the interior and safety) asked officials to maintain an emergency response system against heavy rains.