#Torrential #rain #floods #Seoul #kill
Subway stations and main roads were flooded in the South Korean capital Seoul after record-breaking rains caused severe flooding that left at least seven people dead and seven others missing, officials said on Tuesday.
Dramatic images shared on social media late Monday showed people wading through waist-deep water, crowded subway stations and half-submerged cars in Seoul’s posh Gangnam district after torrential rains battered the city.
The downpour that began on Monday is the heaviest rain in South Korea in 80 years, according to the Yonhap News Agency in Seoul.
“At least seven people have died in the Seoul metropolitan area, while seven others are missing due to heavy rains as of 7:30 this morning,” an official with Seoul’s interior ministry told AFP.
According to local reports, three people living in a banjiha – cramped basement apartments made famous in Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite – died, including a teenager, when their home was inundated by floodwaters.
Parts of Seoul, surrounding Gyeonggi province and the port city of Incheon recorded rainfall of more than 100 millimeters per hour on Monday night, according to Yonhap news agency, with hourly rainfall in the capital’s Dongjak district topping 141.5mm at one point, the heaviest downpour since 1942
President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered government officials to evacuate residents from high-risk areas and encouraged businesses to allow their employees flexible commutes on Tuesday morning.
“Nothing is more precious than life and safety. The government will thoroughly manage the heavy rain situation,” he wrote on his Facebook account.
Neighborhoods near the presidential residence in southern Seoul were affected, according to images of the flooding posted on social media.
Power outages were reported throughout the capital area late Monday, while some operations of the Seoul subway and rail services were temporarily halted by the heavy rain.
The Seoul Express bus terminal in Gangnam was flooded, and floodwaters also poured into a coffee shop and library at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center in the same area.
A picture of a man in a suit sitting on the hood of a submerged vehicle in the affluent south Seoul neighborhood — which was featured in Psy’s 2012 K-pop hit “Gangnam Style” — went viral online.
South Korea remained severely disrupted on Tuesday as many roads and tunnels were closed for safety reasons, Yonhap reported.
Hiking trails in many of South Korea’s national parks have been closed and passenger ferries, including those from Incheon Port, have been suspended.
Social Tags:
#Torrential #rain #floods #Seoul #kill
