Some of the heaviest rain in decades swamped South Korea’s capital region, turning Seoul’s streets into car-clogged rivers and sending floods cascading into subway stations.
At least eight people were killed — some drowning in their homes — and seven others were missing, with more rain forecast, officials said Tuesday.
More than 43 centimetres (17 inches) of rain was measured in Seoul’s hardest-hit Dongjak district from Monday to noon Tuesday, reports AP.
Precipitation in the area exceeded 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) per hour at one point Monday night, the highest hourly downpour measured in Seoul since 1942.
Deserted cars and buses were scattered across streets as the water receded on Tuesday. Workers cleared uprooted trees, mud and debris with excavators and blocked off broken roads. Landslide warnings were issued in nearly 50 cities and towns, and 160 hiking paths in Seoul and mountainous Gangwon province were closed.
Emergency crews worked overnight to restore most subway service as of Tuesday morning, but a route linking towns north of Seoul was shut Tuesday evening as continuing rain flooded some stations.
Dozens of roads, including major expressways near the swollen Han River, were closed because of rising water levels or partial flooding.
The military was prepared to deploy troops to help with recovery efforts if requested by cities or regional governments, Defence Ministry spokesperson Moon Hong-sik said.
The rain began Monday morning and strengthened through the evening. By nightfall, people were wading through thigh-high waters in streets in Gangnam, one of Seoul’s most bustling business and leisure districts, where cars and buses were stuck in mud-brown waters.
Nearly 800 buildings in Seoul and nearby cities were damaged and at least 790 people were forced to evacuate from their homes, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.
The country’s weather agency maintained a heavy rain warning for the Seoul metropolitan area and nearby regions on Tuesday and said precipitation may reach 5 to 10 centimetres (2 to 4 inches) an hour in some areas. It said around 10 to 35 centimetres (4 to 14 inches) of additional rain was expected across the capital region through Thursday.
Rainstorms also pounded North Korea, where authorities issued heavy rain warnings for the southern and western parts of the country. North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper described the rain as potentially disastrous and called for measures to protect farmland and prevent flooding on the Taedong River, which flows through the capital, Pyongyang.