South Korea was once again struck by extreme rainfall on Sunday night, with a record-breaking downpour of over 140mm in just one hour in Muan County, South Jeolla Province. Some communities experienced entire buildings losing power. Authorities received at least 500 reports of disaster incidents, forcing more than 2,500 people to evacuate to safety. Some rivers are also at risk of breaching, and authorities are closely monitoring the situation.
Rainfall Nearly 300 Millimeters
As of 9 PM Sunday, rainfall in Muan had reached 289.6mm. Yonhap News Agency reported that as of 4:30 AM Monday, a total of 2,523 people from six cities and provinces—Busan, Gwangju, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang—and 27 city and county districts had been evacuated due to the heavy rain, with 2,498 of them still sheltering in temporary accommodation.
All cars in outdoor parking lots were submerged in muddy water, while the rain overwhelmed underpasses, causing water to gush out in jets. Some shop owners said that muddy yellow water inundated their stores from the road outside, resulting in serious damage.
Man in His 60s Swept Away and Killed by Swollen River
At least one person died in the rainstorm—a man in his 60s was unfortunately swept away and killed by surging river waters. On Monday morning, heavy rain continued to fall in some areas, including the Seoul metropolitan region.