Flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains have killed 37 people nationwide and left nine people missing, while thousands have evacuated their homes due to rain damage, authorities said Sunday.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said 37 people had been killed in the aftermath of the heavy rains that have pounded the country since last week, while nine others remained missing as of 6 a.m.
The death toll includes nine bodies authorities recovered from a bus trapped in a flooded underground tunnel in the central town of Osong.
The 685-meter-long underground roadway was flooded in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, the previous day when a nearby river overflowed after an embankment was brought down by rising water levels due to heavy rain.
Casualties from the underpass flooding are expected to rise further as a rescue operation continues for 15 vehicles and several people believed to be trapped inside the tunnel.
Most fatalities were reported in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang, where 19 people died largely due to landslides and housing collapses, and eight others remained missing.
One more person remained missing in the southern port city of Busan, the office said. Some 35 people have also been injured nationwide as a result of the recent downpours.
Nearly 20,000 hectares of farmland had been inundated as of 6 p.m. Sunday, the size of around 28,000 football fields combined, and more than 561,000 animals, including chickens and ducks, were killed, according to the agriculture ministry.
Nearly 9,000 people from 14 cities and provinces had evacuated their homes, including 2,581 in North Chungcheong Province, and of them, 5,541 have not returned home yet due to safety concerns, authorities said.
A total of 419 public and private property damage cases have been reported, including 80 cases of destroyed or swept-away public roads, 59 cases of collapsed river embankments and 82 cases of flooded homes.
Heavy rains had also left 220 roads closed as of 6 p.m.
All train operations have been suspended, although KTX bullet trains on some sections resumed operations. The Korea Railroad Corp. said the suspension will continue through Monday to check railways and take necessary steps.
Downpours have also left 20 national parks across the country closed.
As of 6 p.m., heavy rain warnings had been in place in southern inland areas of Gangwon Province, the Chungcheong provinces, southern regions and Jeju Island. Coastal regions of South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces have been forecast to experience heavy rains of up to 50 millimeters per hour.
The weather agency said the central Chungcheong provinces and the southern Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces may experience up to 300 mm of additional rain through Tuesday.
Landslide warnings across the nation, except on Jeju Island, have also been escalated to the highest level of “grave.”
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo vowed prompt government efforts to rescue those who remain missing.
“The government will speedily step up operations to search and rescue those missing,” Han said at a government response meeting, instructing officials to make the utmost efforts to ensure the safety of the people.
During the meeting, the defense ministry reported that 472 military personnel and 69 pieces of government equipment have been deployed to help with the disaster response operations.
President Yoon Suk Yeol held a videoconference with Han and relevant ministers, as he was to return home from a weeklong trip to Europe, and called for swift measures to support victims, his office said.
Since around June 25, when the monsoon season began in South Korea, the central region has received 489.1 millimeters of rain on average, some 30 percent more than that of previous years, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
The figure for the southern region was also 38.8 percent higher, coming to 473.4 mm, the KMA added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency