Geoje shipyards tell workers to stay home amid record rainfall
Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries instructed their employees to stay home as a torrential downpour made roads impassable and prompted worksite damage checks.
A road in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, is flooded due to a heavy downpour on Aug. 17.YONHAP
Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea's two major shipyards based in South Gyeongsang, ordered their employees to stay at home as a heavy downpour battered and flooded the city on Monday. The Geoje-based companies are also assessing worksite conditions for any damage caused by the heavy rain.
Geoje received 124.5 millimeters (4.9 inches) of rain per hour beginning at 1:32 a.m. Monday, the highest hourly rainfall recorded since weather observations began in the city in 1972, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Cumulative rainfall had reached 539.3 millimeters as of 10:12 a.m., which surpassed the city’s previous record for daily precipitation.
Flooded roads and subsequent closures across Geoje disrupted shipyard employees’ commutes.
“It is impossible to come to work as roads across Geoje have been closed due to the torrential rain,” Hanwha Ocean told employees through its company-wide disaster and safety monitoring center.
Samsung Heavy Industries also told employees scheduled for work not to come in and to remain on standby.
A building exterior is seen after being damaged by heavy rain in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on Aug. 17.YONHAP
The measures were taken to protect employees from further risks during their commutes as flooding inundated the roads that lead to the shipyards.
“Roads around the worksites have flooded, which made it impossible for employees to get to work, so for now we have told them to remain on standby,” an industry source said. “Given the damage caused by the overnight downpour, we are also assessing conditions inside the worksites.”
The extent of damage at each company’s facilities has not yet been confirmed.
Heavy rain also inflicted property damage across Geoje. In Okpo-dong on Monday morning, storefront windows were shattered, and some sections of asphalt roads were torn up by the deluge.
With the rain yet to retreat, precipitation totals could climb even further.
The KMA forecast rain across most of the country through Monday morning. The Gyeongsang region and Jeju Island are expected to receive occasional showers until the evening.
BY KO SUK-HYUN [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
