Most of the victims were swallowed up in landslides or fell into a flooded impoundment.
At least 33 people have died and ten are missing following torrential rains which fell on several regions of South Korea, according to an updated report from the authorities, communicated on Sunday July 16. The country is in the middle of the summer monsoon and heavy rains have been falling for the past four days, causing widespread flooding and landslides, as well as the overflow of a major dam.
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, including 17 dead and nine missing, were in the province of Gyeongsang, 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.
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Rescuers are working to reach about 15 cars stuck in a 430-meter-long underground tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, the interior ministry said. According to the Yonhap news agency, the tunnel was submerged on Saturday morning after a flash flood. By Sunday, seven bodies had been recovered from the tunnel and divers were taking turns day and night to search for other victims, according to the Interior Ministry.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, currently on an overseas trip, held an emergency meeting with his aides to discuss the government’s response to severe weather and flooding, his services said. More rain is forecast until Wednesday, and the Korea Meteorological Administration has warned that the weather conditions represent a “severe” hazard.