Videos online show vehicles submerged and people wading through thigh-high waters in Seoul as South Korea was hit by a historic rainfall that reportedly left eight dead and seven others missing.
The rain began Monday morning and intensified through the evening. By nightfall, streets in Seoul were flooded and water cascaded down subway station steps. Stranded cars and buses were seen scattered on the streets as workers cleared the roads on Tuesday, blocking off damaged roads and pavements.
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A majority of Seoul’s subway services have returned to normal operations; however, several roads remain closed due to safety concerns.
Three people — two sisters in their 40s and a 13-year-old girl — drowned in the basement of their homes in the Gwanak district of southern Seoul on Monday night. Rescue workers received a call for help but were unable to reach them in time. Another woman also drowned in her home in the Dongjak district, and a public worker died clearing fallen trees.
Three others were found dead in the debris of landslides and a collapsed bus station in Gwangju and Hwaseong. Four people remain missing in Seoul’s Seocho district.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported around 800 buildings in Seoul and nearby cities were damaged by the heavy rainfall while at least 790 people were forced to evacuate their homes.
From Monday to noon on Tuesday, more than 43 centimeters (approximately 17 inches) of rain was recorded in Seoul’s Dongjak district, the area hit the hardest. At one point on Monday night, the area measured more than 14 centimeters (approximately 5.5 inches) of per-hour precipitation, the highest hourly downpour recorded in South Korea since 1942.
South Korea’s weather agency has issued a heavy rain warning for the Seoul metropolitan area and nearby areas. Rainfall may reach around five to 10 centimeters (approximately 2 to 4 inches) an hour and 10 to 35 centimeters (approximately 4 to 14 inches) is expected through Thursday.
“The heavy rainfall is expected to continue for days … we need to maintain our sense of alert and respond with all-out effort,” President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the government’s emergency headquarters.
Feature Image via TikTok
