South Korean officials said on Tuesday that at least 10,000 people had died in and around Seoul overnight after torrential rains cut power, triggered landslides and submerged roads and subways. Eight people have been declared dead.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), more than 3.9 inches of rain per hour will fall in the south of the capital late Monday, reaching 5.5 inches in parts of the city, the heaviest rainfall in decades. became. ).
Cumulative precipitation in Seoul since midnight Monday was 17.7 inches as of 2:00 PM. More forecast for Tuesday.
On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk-yeol visited a semi-basement apartment. The apartment had killed three family members the night before after the space was filled by rapidly moving flood waters.
The flooding scene in the 2020 Oscar-winning film Parasite famously depicted the dangers of such underground apartments, known as banziha.
Yoon urged residents of the area to get their lives back to normal. said he would try to A statement from his office said he instructed authorities to consider measures to better ensure housing safety.
At least five people had died in Seoul by early Tuesday morning, and his three in neighboring Gyeonggi province, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
4 people, including 3 family members, after drowning in flooded building At least nine died, one believed to have been electrocuted, another found under the wreckage of a bus stop, and two others died in a landslide, it said. were injured and seven people were missing.
Some buildings and shops were flooded in the vibrant and dense Gangnam district. Then cars, buses and subway stations were submerged and people were stranded.
Lim Na-kyung, a 31-year-old office worker, said he recalled a scene from the 1997 movie "Titanic," describing the horrors of Monday night.
Had to spend the night at the Pilates Center on the fourth floor The mother of his two children, who never had one, said:
At least 765 facilities were damaged, according to data. About 52 highways and roads were blocked.
About 391 people were displaced near Seoul, most of whom had to remain in local schools and gymnasiums. A further 399 people were temporarily relocated to community centers and schools, according to data.
Headquarters raised the crisis alert to the highest level and asked the organization to adjust working hours.
The KMA has issued heavy rain warnings for the capital and metropolitan areas of 26 million, as well as parts of Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces.
The KMA expects heavy rains to continue through at least Wednesday in central parts of the country.
South Korea frequently experiences heavy rainfall in summer, but "such a sudden increase in precipitation and frequent downpours cannot be explained without major trends in climate change," he said of the KMA. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. Reuters. "This phenomenon appears to be occurring more frequently with climate change resulting in longer summers."
