Heavy rains leave 4 dead, 1 missing, over 5,000 evacuated in S. Korea
Heavy rains that battered South Korea for three days have left four people dead, another missing and more than 5,000 people evacuated, officials said Friday, as weather authorities warned of more torrential rains across the nation, Yonhap reports.
Most fatalities were reported in South Chungcheong Province from the heavy downpours that pounded the nation's central and southern regions, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
One person was found in cardiac arrest inside a flooded vehicle on a road in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. The man was taken to a nearby hospital but died, officials said.
An elderly man in his 80s was found dead in the basement of his home, and a retaining wall collapsed onto a moving vehicle, killing the driver, officials said. Another person was found dead in a stream.
A search was under way to find the missing person in the southwestern city of Gwangju after authorities received a report around 10:18 p.m. Thursday that the person had been swept away by river currents near a bridge.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, 5,192 people from 13 cities and provinces have evacuated their homes due to safety concerns, authorities said.
A total of 496 public and 276 private property damage cases have been reported, including 328 cases of flooded roads and 30 cases of collapsed river embankments.
Two passenger ferry routes were suspended, and train services on seven major lines were partially halted.
A total of 45 blackouts were reported, 36 of which had been restored as of early Friday, while operations were ongoing for the remaining nine.
On Thursday, the government raised the weather-related disaster alert to its highest level, "serious," in response to the escalating damage caused by the ongoing heavy rainfall.
The headquarters also activated the highest stage of its emergency response system, mobilizing all relevant government ministries and agencies for full-scale disaster response.
The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast an additional 100 to 200 mm of rain from Thursday to Friday for the southern cities of Gwangju, Busan and Ulsan, and 50 to 150 mm for the central Chungcheong area and North Jeolla Province, as well as Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.
As reported earlier, the death toll from monsoon rains in northern India surpasses 100.