Floodwater covers a road in the Okpo neighborhood of Geoje, South Gyeongsang, after torrential rain on Aug. 17.NEWS1
Torrential rain across southern Korea has killed one person, injured four and triggered more than 2,500 emergency response cases since Saturday, authorities said Tuesday.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters logged 2,574 cases as of 6 a.m. Tuesday. Of those, 2,010 involved safety measures, 402 involved water supply or drainage assistance and 162 were rescues.
One resident was killed and two were injured as a landslide struck an apartment building in Okpo-dong, Geoje, South Gyeongsang, at around 4:42 a.m. Monday, burying the first floor. One person was also injured in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, and another in Ulsan.
Geoje recorded 956.1 millimeters (37.6 inches) of rain between midnight Saturday and 5 a.m. Tuesday. Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, recorded 766.9 millimeters, followed by Gadeok Island in Busan with 518 millimeters, Seongsan in Jeju with 477 millimeters, Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, with 430.5 millimeters and Goseong, South Gyeongsang, with 429.5 millimeters.
Rain was expected to continue along parts of the southern coast Tuesday morning. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast another 10 to 50 millimeters for Busan and the South Gyeongsang coast and 5 to 40 millimeters along the South Jeolla coast through the morning.
The rain damaged 2.1 hectares (5.2 acres) of crops including figs and chili peppers in South Jeolla. Power outages affected 4,161 households, with service restored to 4,026 by Tuesday morning.
Water service was also disrupted. Restoration work was underway for about 1,000 households in one township in Tongyeong and about 4,177 households across six townships and neighborhoods in Geoje.
Floodwater covers a road in the Okpo neighborhood of Geoje, South Gyeongsang, after torrential rain on Aug. 17.NEWS1
The rain forced 564 people from 318 households to evacuate temporarily across nine cities and districts in Busan, South Gyeongsang and Jeju. Of those, 316 people from 171 households had returned home, while 248 people from 147 households remained unable to return. Temporary shelter was provided to 240 people from 141 households.
The disaster headquarters said all heavy rain advisories had been lifted as of Tuesday morning, while trains, flights and ferries were operating normally. Access remained restricted to 255 sections of three national parks and 306 hazardous locations, including riverside walking paths and low-water crossings.
BY KIM JI-HYE [cho.yongjun1@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.
