flood toll rises to nine dead and seven missing

At least nine people have died and seven others are missing after record flooding in South Korea, according to a new report released by the Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday August 10. The rains started on Monday and are the heaviest since the first meteorological observations 115 years ago, said President Yoon Suk-yeol, who apologized for the “inconveniences”. In total, nearly 600 people have been affected, many forced to leave their homes, according to the Interior Ministry.

Footage posted to social media showed people waist-deep in water on the streets of Seoul, flooded subway stations and half-submerged cars. Gangnam, an upscale district of the South Korean capital, was particularly affected.

Of the nine victims, three died while trapped in their flooded semi-basement apartment, according to the ministry. Another person died while moving a fallen tree on the sidewalk, possibly by electrocution. A landslide buried the home of another victim in the mountainous province of Gangwon.