Heavy Rains Flood South Korea's Capital Seoul

 

August 8, 2022 at 5:14 PM PDT Updated on August 8, 2022 at 9:36 PM PDT

1.    One of the worst rainstorms to hit Seoul in 80 years left at least eight people dead and six more missing as it flooded streets and subway stations and forced the president of South Korea to convene an emergency meeting.

In certain areas of the region, the storm dropped as much as 141 millimetres (5.5 inches) of water every hour. According to the Meteorological Administration, 300-350 millimetres more rain are expected to fall through Thursday, increasing the likelihood of more floods.

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 Tuesday, the National Disaster and Safety Status Control Center in the nation was the site of an emergency meeting called by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

To protect people's lives and property, Yoon urged authorities to take extreme steps up until the crisis is resolved. Earlier, the presidential administration urged businesses and government agencies to modify working hours for employees.


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5.      In addition to flooding in some areas of the city centre, the torrential rains that began on Monday and continued into Tuesday also turned some parking lots into ponds. Many lines of the train and subway were shut down, and many companies asked their staff to work remotely.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the hourly rainfall totals were the highest since a typhoon in 1942. Data from South's weather office shows that some parts of Seoul experienced more rain in a single day than they do in a month during the summer.

 

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7.    According to the interior ministry, at least 163 individuals lost their homes, and 751 structures flooded. It also stated that at least 11 ministries were involved in the government's reaction to limit the damage.

For the first time in two years, South Korea will release water from the Soyang Dam, the world's largest dam with a storage capacity of 2.9 billion tonnes, on Wednesday. According to the Korea Water Resources Corporation, it would be the 17th release since the dam was erected in 1973.

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Parts of neighboring Japan were hit by torrential rains this week that triggered landslides and caused dozen of rivers to overflow their banks. Parts of the country were under storm surge advisories on Tuesday.



10.   North Korea has also been hit by heavy rain that threatens farms and forests, its official media said.

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)At least eight people were killed in Seoul on Monday after record downpours flooded homes, roads and subway stations in the South Korean capital, cutting power and forcing hundreds to evacuate, according to authorities.

South Korea's Interior and Safety Ministry said three of those who died had been trapped in a flooded semi-basement. Nine others were injured and six people remain missing, the ministry said.

Since midnight Monday local time, parts of Seoul saw a total of 422 millimeters (16 inches) of rain, prompting authorities to raise the highest Level 3 emergency alert. The city recorded 141.5 millimeters (5.57 inches) of rain per hour -- the highest rate since authorities began keeping records.

Photos from across the city show severe flooding, with people wading across roads up to their thighs in water.

 



The nation's Meteorology Administration predicts that Tuesday will see further heavy rain, with some areas receiving up to 100 millimetres (3.9 inches) of rain per hour.

While flooding was reported in certain Hokkaido locations following monsoon rains on Monday night, there have been no reported injuries as of Tuesday. The risk of landslides and flash floods has been announced by the authorities

Content source:

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/09/asia/seoul-south-korea-rain-flooding-intl-hnk/index.html

 

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