- Antara FOTO.
Osong – Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains left 32 people dead across South Korea and 10 missing while thousands of residents were evacuated from their rain-damaged homes, the authorities said on Sunday.
The Central Office of Disaster Management and Rescue said that 26 people were reported dead from the heavy rains that hit the country since last week, while 10 others were still missing, data collected as of 6 am local time.
Rescue workers recovered six additional bodies from a bus trapped by floodwaters in an underground tunnel in the central city of Osong.
Banjir di Kedoya Utara Selasa malam 25 Februari 2020. (Foto ilustrasi).
- VIVAnews / Suparjo Ramalan
The 685-meter-long tunnel was flooded in Osong, North Chungcheong province earlier in the day when a nearby river overflowed after an embankment broke due to rising water levels caused by heavy rains.
By Sunday morning, the death toll from the flooding in the tunnel had risen to seven and was expected to rise as rescue operations continued for 15 vehicles and several people thought to be trapped inside the tunnel.
Most of the deaths were reported in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang, where 17 people were killed by landslides and collapsed houses, and nine others remain missing.
One of the missing was reported in Busan, the office said. In addition, thirteen people were injured due to heavy rains across the region.
As of 6 pm, a reported 7,540 people from 13 cities had been evacuated from their homes, including 2,301 in North Chungcheong Province, and a total of 5,933 people had not returned to their homes due to safety concerns, according to authorities.
A total of 226 cases of damage to public and private buildings have been reported, including 25 cases of destroyed or washed away public roads, 25 cases of broken river embankments, and 33 flooded homes.
The heavy rains also caused 211 roads to be closed, with 10 roads still unusable as of 6am.
All rail operations were suspended, although KTX bullet trains were still operating on some routes. In addition, 20 national parks across the country were closed, and 12 flights were canceled on Sunday.
Then, at 5 am, heavy rain warnings were issued in the southern inland areas of Gangwon Province, Chungcheong province, the southern region and Jeju Island.
Coastal areas in South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces are expected to experience heavy rains of up to 30 millimeters per hour.
Over the next several days, South Korean southern region, central Chungcheong Province and Jeju Island are expected to see between 50 mm-200 mm of rainfall, while the greater Seoul area is expected to see between 5 mm-60 mm of rain, the weather agency said.
Landslide warnings across the country, except on Jeju Island, have also been upgraded to the highest level of "urgent".
