Landslides and flooding bring death, disaster to South Korea
Source: Agencies |
July 28, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WALLS of mud barreling down a hill buried 10 college students sleeping in a resort cabin and flash floods submerged the streets and subway stations in Seoul, killing at least 36 people yesterday in South Korea's heaviest rains this year.
The students were engulfed by a landslide in Chuncheon, about 110 kilometers northeast of Seoul, said fire marshal Byun In-soo. A married couple and a convenience store owner also died.
Witnesses interviewed on television said the landslide sounded like a huge explosion or a freight train. They described people screaming as buildings were carried away by rivers of mud.
About 670 firefighters, soldiers, police and others fought to rescue those trapped and extract the dead from the mud and wreckage in Chuncheon, where 24 other people were injured and several buildings destroyed.
In southern Seoul, 16 people died when mud crashed through homes at the foot of a mountain, the National Emergency Management Agency said. Seven others died after a stream just south of the capital flooded, and dozens of people were reported missing throughout the country, the agency said.
Fast-moving mud filled the streets in Seoul yesterday, sending residents scrambling to the roofs of their partially submerged cars.
Water filled some subway stations and spewed from sewers. TV images showed people in one flooded subway station using shovels, brooms and a wooden board in an effort to stop more rain flooding in.
Footage showed officials rescuing hikers stranded on mountainsides. People plodded down streets knee-deep in water. In Seoul's center, cars were restricted from entering the lower part of a submerged two-level bridge.
The heavy rain since Tuesday has left about 620 people homeless, flooded 720 houses and submerged 100 vehicles throughout the country, the emergency management agency said.
About 440 millimeters of rain has fallen on Seoul and more than 340mm on Chuncheon in the last two days, about 15 times more than the average two-day rainfall at this time of year, according to the state-run Korea Meteorological Administration.
Weather officials said another 254mm could fall in the north of the country, including Seoul, today and tomorrow.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency declared a traffic emergency, mobilizing more officers to deal with the affects of the weather.
Seoul, a bustling capital of 10 million, shut down portions of two major highways stretching along each side of the main Han River because of high water levels, said disaster official Kim Ji-hwan.
A dam just east of Seoul was discharging 16,400 tons of water per second, about 16 times more than usual, said Cha Jun-ho from the Han River Flood Control Office.
People in Seoul, where smartphones are ubiquitous, posted dozens of photos on Twitter and Facebook showing inundated streets and mud-covered cars. Many complained online that Seoul had neglected to prepare for the downpours.
The students were engulfed by a landslide in Chuncheon, about 110 kilometers northeast of Seoul, said fire marshal Byun In-soo. A married couple and a convenience store owner also died.
Witnesses interviewed on television said the landslide sounded like a huge explosion or a freight train. They described people screaming as buildings were carried away by rivers of mud.
About 670 firefighters, soldiers, police and others fought to rescue those trapped and extract the dead from the mud and wreckage in Chuncheon, where 24 other people were injured and several buildings destroyed.
In southern Seoul, 16 people died when mud crashed through homes at the foot of a mountain, the National Emergency Management Agency said. Seven others died after a stream just south of the capital flooded, and dozens of people were reported missing throughout the country, the agency said.
Fast-moving mud filled the streets in Seoul yesterday, sending residents scrambling to the roofs of their partially submerged cars.
Water filled some subway stations and spewed from sewers. TV images showed people in one flooded subway station using shovels, brooms and a wooden board in an effort to stop more rain flooding in.
Footage showed officials rescuing hikers stranded on mountainsides. People plodded down streets knee-deep in water. In Seoul's center, cars were restricted from entering the lower part of a submerged two-level bridge.
The heavy rain since Tuesday has left about 620 people homeless, flooded 720 houses and submerged 100 vehicles throughout the country, the emergency management agency said.
About 440 millimeters of rain has fallen on Seoul and more than 340mm on Chuncheon in the last two days, about 15 times more than the average two-day rainfall at this time of year, according to the state-run Korea Meteorological Administration.
Weather officials said another 254mm could fall in the north of the country, including Seoul, today and tomorrow.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency declared a traffic emergency, mobilizing more officers to deal with the affects of the weather.
Seoul, a bustling capital of 10 million, shut down portions of two major highways stretching along each side of the main Han River because of high water levels, said disaster official Kim Ji-hwan.
A dam just east of Seoul was discharging 16,400 tons of water per second, about 16 times more than usual, said Cha Jun-ho from the Han River Flood Control Office.
People in Seoul, where smartphones are ubiquitous, posted dozens of photos on Twitter and Facebook showing inundated streets and mud-covered cars. Many complained online that Seoul had neglected to prepare for the downpours.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
