At least 37 people have died in South Korea in mudslides and floods caused by heavy rains. Nationwide, nine people were also missing, the Interior Ministry in Seoul announced on Sunday. Most of the deaths were buried by landslides or washed away by floodwaters from an overflowing dam. At least nine people died when a road tunnel flooded in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
South Korea is in the middle of the monsoon season. Usually the country is well prepared and the death toll is usually low. But now four days of heavy rain has fallen, causing the Goesan dam in northern Chungcheong to overflow, among other things.
The South Korean meteorological agency expects more rain until Wednesday. There is still a “serious” danger. Residents in risk areas were asked not to leave their homes and apartments if possible.
In Cheongju, rescue workers continued to try to reach more than 10 cars trapped in the 430-meter-long road tunnel, according to the Ministry of Interior on Sunday. According to the Yonhap news agency, it filled up so quickly on Saturday that people were unable to protect themselves. Five people were rescued from a bus stuck in the tunnel.
Journalists at the scene reported Sunday that rescue workers were trying to pump water out of the tunnel. According to the Yonhap news agency, divers were also involved day and night in the search for other victims.
North Gyeongsang was hardest hit by the storm, with 19 dead. In the mountainous region, the water masses caused several large landslides. According to the Interior Ministry, some of the missing people were also swept away by a river during the flood. 1,500 people affected by the evacuations have still not been able to return to their homes.
According to his office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is currently traveling abroad, discussed with his advisers the necessary government measures. Earlier, Yoon had asked Prime Minister Han Duck Soo to mobilize all available rescue workers.
South Korea had already suffered heavy rains and floods last year, which killed eleven people. The government declared at the time that it was the heaviest rain since meteorological records began 115 years ago. She attributed the extreme weather to climate change.