The severe rain in South Korea has created landslides and flash floods, which have resulted in the deaths of twenty-six people and the evacuation of thousands of others from their homes.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the country, ten further people are still missing, and nine people have been injured as a result of the downpour.
According to the ministry, there were 16 fatalities documented across the nation in the province of North Gyeongsang, which is located along the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. The majority of the people there were taken out by the landslides.
The heavy flooding has also caused damage to public roadways, private homes, and agricultural areas, according to the report.
According to Yonhap News Agency, two individuals were killed on Friday after a landslide caused the collapse of their building in the city of Nonsan, which is located in the province of South Chungcheong.
According to the ministry, as of early Sunday morning, more than 5,566 people had been forced to abandon their houses and seek refuge in temporary locations across the entirety of South Korea. In addition, according to Yonhap, there are currently power disruptions affecting around 8,300 families in four different provinces.
According to a news source in South Korea, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo issued orders for officials to evacuate people living in areas that were prone to landslides and to carry out rescue operations.
South Korea had Unprecedented Rainfall
The South Korean metropolis of Seoul had unprecedented rainfall in 2017, which led to the flooding of homes, roadways, and subways, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people.
As the climate crisis, which is driven by humans, accelerates the possibility of extreme weather events, scientists have issued a warning that both the frequency and intensity of areas across East Asia experiencing heavy rainfall is on the rise.
The latest wave of heavy downpours in South Korea arrive shortly following catastrophic storms struck devastation in bordering Japan, slaying more than six people and wounding 19. In total, 19 individuals were affected by the flooding there.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued emergency warnings at the beginning of the week for the prefectures of Fukuoka and Oita, which are located on Kyushu, the country’s third largest island, due to the torrential rain that was falling in the southwest of the country.
At the beginning of this month, torrential rains triggered floods in the southwest region of China, which resulted in the deaths of around 15 people from the town of Chongqing.