South Korea was hit by heavy rain on Wednesday (July 16) and Thursday, leading to flooded roads, disruptions in public transportation, school closures, and at least four deaths with over a thousand people forced to evacuate.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Times, the South Korean Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the fire department announced on Thursday that around 7:04 pm on the 16th, a bridge railing collapsed due to the impact of heavy rain in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, burying two cars and resulting in one fatality. Then, around 3:59 am on the 17th in Sunchang, South Chungcheong Province, a car was submerged by floodwater, leading to a sudden cardiac arrest of a man in his fifties who was urgently rushed to the hospital but unfortunately succumbed.
On the afternoon of the 17th, heavy rain warnings were issued for most areas of South Korea except Jeju Island, with some regions expecting nearly 100 millimeters of rainfall per hour. During the evening, Chungcheong Province and the southern regions of the Korean Peninsula were forecasted to experience heavy rainfall ranging from 50 to 80 millimeters per hour.
South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported that from the 16th to 5 pm on the 17th, rainfall in some areas of South Chungcheong Province in the southern part of the capital had exceeded 400 millimeters (15.7 inches).
As of 10 am on the 17th, the heavy rain had already forced 1,070 residents to evacuate their homes.
The Korea Meteorological Administration stated that the rainfall in the region reached record highs due to the heavy rain, with more rainfall expected on the night of the 17th.
The Korea Forest Service mentioned that with the continuous heavy rainfall, landslide warnings in Chungcheong and several other regions have been raised to the highest level.
In Gwangju, about 267 kilometers (166 miles) south of Seoul, within approximately two hours after the issuance of a heavy rain warning, 87 roads and 38 buildings were inundated.
The Ministry of Education noted that about 403 schools were closed on the 17th due to the heavy rain, with 166 school properties damaged.
For public safety considerations, the Ministry of the Interior restricted the passage of nearly 80 underground passageways, riverside roads, and low bridges in the Chungcheong region.
Due to the severe weather conditions, 374 hiking trails in 15 national parks were closed, and 39 passenger ships on 31 maritime routes were unable to operate normally.