Heavy rains batter South Korean province, trigger deadly landslide
Torrential downpours over the weekend dumped more than 800 millimeters of rain on South Korea’s South Gyeongsang Province, causing a landslide in Geoje that killed one resident, authorities said Monday, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Yonhap.
Geoje, located over 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, recorded 805.7 mm of rainfall from Saturday through 8 a.m. Monday. Tongyeong received 671.9 mm, while other parts of the province saw between 240 mm and 340 mm.
Heavy rain warnings remained in effect in five areas, including Geoje and Tongyeong, with advisories across much of the region. At 4:42 a.m. Monday, a landslide struck an apartment building in Geoje. Police and firefighters rescued three residents, but one was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Flooding affected 12 schools and kindergartens in Geoje and Tongyeong. Firefighters responded to more than 20 emergency calls overnight, while overflowing streams inundated roads and triggered another landslide that damaged a house without causing casualties.
As of Monday morning, rainfall in Geoje and Tongyeong reached up to 100 mm per hour, with forecasts warning of an additional 150 mm during the day.
The Interior Ministry activated a Level 1 emergency response at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Interior Minister Yun Ho‑jung urged full efforts to safeguard lives, while Prime Minister Han Seong‑sook instructed police, firefighters, and local authorities to prioritize the rescue of stranded residents.
Earlier, it was reported that the death toll from record rainfall in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, this month has climbed to 10.