At least seven people died in and around the South Korean capital Seoul overnight, officials said on Tuesday. Heavy rains caused a loss of power, causing slips and derailing roads and subways. submerged.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, more than 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain fell per hour late Monday in southern Seoul, with parts of the city receiving the worst rainfall in decades at 141.5 mm. Recorded. Management (KMA).
Cumulative precipitation in Seoul since midnight Monday is 420 mm as of 5:00 am Tuesday, with more rain expected.
In the glittering and highly concentrated Gangnam district, some buildings and shops were flooded, causing power outages, submerging cars, buses and subway stations, leaving people stranded.
"Last night I was near Gangnam station, and the rainfall got so heavy that thunder and lightning rang out every 30 seconds of him," said his 27-year-old office worker in Seoul. One he said Lee Dongha. “Suddenly, buses, subway stations, and streets were flooded.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said at least five people had died in Seoul by early Tuesday morning, and two more in neighboring Gyeonggi Province. did. Said. Four people died trapped in a flooded building, one was believed to have been electrocuted, one was found under the wreckage of a bus stop and another died in a landslide, it said. .
At least nine people were injured and six were missing.
Headquarters raised the crisis alert to maximum and asked the organization to adjust its working hours.
The KMA has issued heavy rain warnings for the capital and the metropolitan area of 26 million, as well as parts of Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces.
President Yoon Seok-yeol presided over an emergency response meeting and ordered authorities to focus on preventing casualties and quickly managing and rehabilitating flooded areas, the disaster task force said.
The KMA expects heavy rains to continue through at least Wednesday in central parts of the country.
South Korea experiences heavy rainfall frequently in the summer, but "the rapid increase in precipitation and frequent torrential downpours cannot be explained without major trends in climate change," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. said a KMA official. Reuters. "This phenomenon appears to be occurring more frequently with climate change resulting in longer summers."
