Monsoon rains nationwide result in at least six dead, two missing

Flooding and landslides due to heavy monsoon rains nationwide this week have resulted in six deaths and two individuals missing, according to authorities on Thursday.

Residents affected by flooding in Yongchon-dong in Seo District, Daejeon, on Monday take a rest at a temporary shelter on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Flooding and landslides due to heavy monsoon rains nationwide this week have resulted in six deaths and two individuals missing, according to authorities on Thursday.

Since Sunday, heavy downpours have flooded 9,522 hectares (23,529 acres) of crops as of Wednesday 6 p.m., according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Thursday.

As damage reports emerge following the torrential rain from Monday through Wednesday, which particularly impacted the southern regions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety confirmed the casualties on Thursday.

In North Chungcheong, one man died when a soil retaining wall under construction collapsed on Monday morning. Another fatality occurred on Wednesday morning when a man in his 70s drove into a swollen stream.

In South Chungcheong, landslides claimed two lives in Seocheon and Geumsan, and a man in his 50s died when an elevator flooded in a studio apartment in Nonsan.

Additionally, a man drowned near a drainage system in Daegu, bringing the total death toll to six.

Rescue operations are underway for a 71-year-old man who went missing Wednesday morning after the shipping container he lived in was damaged by heavy rain in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong. While police have located the container and his car, the man remains missing.

A woman in her 40s has been missing since Tuesday in North Gyeongsang.

Separately, a college student was reported missing in North Jeolla, where up to 255 millimeters (10 inches) of rain pounded the region in a single day.

This case was not included in the official statistics from the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

Police said they received a missing persons report around 11 a.m. Wednesday that said, "A friend went outside early Wednesday morning but has since been out of touch."

The 22-year-old male student from a local medical school was in Iksan, North Jeolla, for a retreat with college club members. He was supposedly drinking with colleagues until the early morning at a pension and is believed to have left around 4 a.m. Wednesday, according to the person who filed the report.

As of 9 a.m., approximately 100 personnel, along with drones and rescue dogs, have been deployed in search of the missing student, but he has not been located as yet.

South Chungcheong was the most affected region with 7,086 hectares of crop fields inundated. The insurance industry reported that by Thursday 9 a.m., 1,569 vehicles have been damaged due to the torrents, affecting 12 insurance companies since Saturday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol directed the relevant ministries to provide support for rain damage during his visit to the United States on Thursday, his office said.

Yoon issued an emergency order after receiving briefings on the impacts of heavy downpours in Korea, as stated by Kim Soo-kyung, the presidential spokesperson.

Yoon instructed ministries, led by the Minister of Interior and Safety, to exert all efforts for immediate and effective support in response to the damage from the heavy rainfall.

He also called for recovery efforts in affected areas and emphasized the need for enhanced emergency response measures to prepare for future severe rainfall events.

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