Devastating flooding and landslides triggered by relentless heavy rains have claimed the lives of 26 individuals, with 10 people still unaccounted for in South Korea.
AFP further noted that the country, currently experiencing the peak of its summer monsoon season, has witnessed continuous downpours over the past four days, resulting in the overflow of a significant dam. Most of the casualties were caused by landslides or individuals being swept away by the surging waters of a flooded reservoir.
The interior ministry has provided these distressing figures as rescue teams persistently work to reach those trapped within a submerged tunnel. Rescue workers were still struggling to reach some 15 cars trapped in a 430-metre underground tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong province, the ministry said.
The tunnel was inundated on Saturday morning after floodwaters swept in too quickly for the people inside to escape, according to the Yonhap news agency.
On Sunday, five bodies not yet included in the official death toll were recovered from a bus submerged in the tunnel, Yonhap reported.
The majority of the casualties — including 17 of the dead and nine of the missing — were from North Gyeongsang province, and were largely due to massive landslides in the mountainous area that engulfed houses with people inside.
The interior ministry said that some of the people who have been reported missing were swept away when a river overflowed in North Gyeongsang province.
More rain is forecast through Wednesday, and the Korea Meteorological Administration has warned the weather conditions pose a “grave” danger.
South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period, but the country is typically well-prepared and the death toll is usually relatively low. The country endured record-breaking rains and flooding last year, which left more than 11 people dead.
They included three people who died trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of the kind that became internationally known because of the Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite”.
The government further informed at the time that the 2022 flooding was the heaviest rainfall since Seoul weather records began 115 years ago, blaming climate change for the extreme weather, AFP reported.
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Updated: 16 Jul 2023, 06:52 AM IST
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