S. Korea: More than 2,500 evacuated after heavy rains inundate southern regions
More than 2,500 people were forced to evacuate after heavy rains overnight that pounded the nation's southern regions, authorities said Monday, Yonhap reports.
A total of 2,523 people took refuge across six major southern cities and provinces -- Busan, Gwangju, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsan and South Gyeongsang -- as of 4:30 a.m. Monday due to the downpours, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
Of those evacuated, 2,498 people have yet to return to their homes.
Southern parts of the country were hit hard by heavy rains overnight, with the southwestern county of Muan receiving 289.6 millimeters of rain from midnight Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
A 60-something man was found dead in a stream in Muan, but authorities said they were figuring out whether the death was related to the torrential rains.
This photo, provided by a reader on Aug. 3, 2025, shows a road flooded due to downpours in the southwestern county of Muan. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The disaster headquarters raised its emergency response operation level by one notch to Level 2 at 11 p.m. Sunday due to the heavy rains.
The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast heavy rain nationwide Monday, with downpours set to continue in South Gyeongsang and nearby areas.
Precipitation of 5 to 10 mm is expected for Seoul, Incheon and western parts of Gyeonggi Province from Monday to early Tuesday morning, while downpours of 30 to 80 mm are expected for Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang, with some areas receiving more than 120 mm of rain.
Heat wave alerts have been lifted in some areas due to the downpours, with temperatures expected to reach highs of 29 to 34 C on Monday.
As written before, torrential rains from the night of 31st July to early 1st August triggered flash floods and landslides across several communes in Vietnam's Dien Bien province, leaving at least two people dead and eight others missing.