at least 22 dead and 14 missing in monsoon floods

At least 22 people have died and 14 are missing following torrential rains that hit several regions of South Korea, authorities announced on Saturday (July 15th). Thousands of residents had to be evacuated from their homes because of an alert to the overflow of a dam, in the middle of the monsoon season. The 22 people killed and 14 missing were mostly swallowed up in landslides or fell into a flooded water reservoir, according to the Interior Ministry.

The death toll is expected to rise further as authorities are still taking stock of the damage across the country, according to the news agency. Yonhap.

The majority of the victims (16 dead and 9 missing) were in Gyeongsang province, in the north of the country, where gigantic landslides in mountainous areas buried inhabited houses. Several of the missing people were swept away in the overflows of a river in this region, according to the ministry.

Cars trapped in a tunnel

More than 6,400 residents of central Goesan County were ordered to evacuate early Saturday as the Goesan Dam began to overflow from heavy rains and submerge nearby low-lying villages , according to the Ministry of the Interior.

According Yonhap news agency said rescuers were working hard to reach 19 cars trapped in a tunnel in Cheongju, central North Chungcheong province, where the body of a person was found. Floods hit the area with such rapidity that the population could not evacuate in time. Water levels remain high and it is still impossible to know precisely how many people have been trapped in their vehicles, Yonhap said.

The torrential rains have caused all regular trains to stop nationwide, with high-speed KTX trains remaining operational with possible schedule adjustments, according to the national railway company.