At Least 17 People Killed in Floods and Landslides Following Days of Torrential Rain

At least 17 people have died in floods and landslides following days of torrential rain in South Korea.

According to reports from the BBC and Reuters, 11 people have also been reported missing across the country following the heavy rain, which began on Wednesday, July 16. Much of the damage has been focused in Gapyeong, a town northeast of Seoul known for its vacation resorts and farmlands.

More than 13,000 people were evacuated from their homes amid the severe weather, and President Lee Jae-myung ordered the most devastated areas to be declared special disaster zones on Sunday, July 20, the BBC reported. Video footage and photos show landslides engulfing houses and campsites, as well as cars being swept away by the water.

The country’s Interior and Safety Ministry said that one person was killed on Sunday after their house collapsed during the rain, and another person was found dead after being swept away by a swollen stream, per the Associated Press.

At one Gapyeong campsite, a landslide killed a man in his 40s and left two of his family members missing, as well as 24 other people stranded, fire officials told Reuters.

Officials rescued one person near the campsite by using a zip line to cross a river, and another video shared by firefighters shows people being rescued by helicopter.

Thousands of roads and buildings have also been damaged or submerged by the flooding, and farmlands have faced extensive damage.

South of Gapyeong, an entire town was covered with earth and debris after a landslide struck on Saturday in the Chungcheong region, the outlets reported.

Ten people were found dead and four others were also reported missing in the southern village of Sancheong. One person also died in the city of Gwangju, and local media outlets have reported that more than 40,000 households have lost power amid the storms.

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Earlier in the week, authorities said that one person was killed when their car was buried by soil and concrete in Osan, located just south of Seoul, during a heavy downpour. Three more people were found dead in a submerged car, a swollen stream and a flooded basement in the province of South Chungcheong, according to AP.

South Korean Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung asked local authorities to make use of “all available resources” as soon as possible, the BBC reported.

AP reported that as of 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, more than 2,700 people were still evacuated from their homes. Much of the rain has subsided in the central and southern regions, but the northern provinces are now being hit with heavy rainfall, and more rain is expected in Seoul.

According to the BBC, the rainfall is expected to end on Sunday night, and South Korea will then face a heatwave, with temperatures predicted to reach 90 degrees later this week.