(SEOUL) At least 26 people have died and ten are missing after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in South Korea, authorities said on Sunday, as rescuers searched for people trapped in a flooded underground tunnel.
South Korea 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 Interior Ministry said 26 people had been killed and ten others missing as a result of the torrential rains, most of whom had been buried by landslides or had fallen into a flooded reservoir.
Rescuers are working to reach about 15 cars stuck in a 430-meter-long underground tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, the ministry said.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the tunnel was submerged on Saturday morning after a flash flood flooded it too quickly for people to escape.
YONHAP PHOTO VIA REUTERS
People take part in a search and rescue operation following a landslide caused by torrential rains in Yecheon on July 15.
On Sunday, five new bodies were found in a submerged bus, including that of a woman in her 70s, Yonhap news reported.
The majority of the victims, including 17 dead and nine missing, are from North Gyeongsang province, a mountainous region particularly affected by landslides that engulfed houses and trapped their occupants inside.
Some of the missing people were swept away by an overflowing river in North Gyeongsang Province, the ministry said.
More rain is forecast until Wednesday, and the Korea Meteorological Administration has warned that the weather conditions pose a “serious” danger.
PHOTO YONHAP VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Rescuers search for survivors on a flooded road leading to an underground tunnel where 19 cars were trapped by floodwaters after heavy rains on July 15 in Cheongju.
South Korea is regularly affected by floods during the summer monsoon but the country is generally well prepared and the number of victims remains relatively low.
Last year, the country also experienced heavy rains and floods, which killed 11 people.
The government then said the 2022 rainfall was the heaviest since weather records for Seoul began 115 years ago, blaming the extremes on climate change.