Busan Hit by Another 'Water Bomb'... 3 Dead in Flooded Underpass

Heavy Rain and High Tide Combine to Increase Damage
348 Flooded Roads, 141 Flooded Vehicles, Landslides

Around 9:40 PM on the 23rd, the Choryang Underpass near Busan Station was flooded, resulting in the deaths of three people. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] On the 23rd, when heavy rain exceeding 80mm per hour fell, the Busan area was trapped by rising waters, resulting in 3 deaths and flooding of 141 vehicles, causing continuous damage.

The heavy rain in Busan on that day, combined with record-breaking rainfall and high tide, worsened damage such as river flooding and inundation.

In Busan, about 200mm of heavy rain poured for approximately three hours after a heavy rain warning was issued at 8 p.m.

According to Busan police on the 24th, around 9:40 p.m. on the 23rd, the Choryang No. 1 Underpass, 175 meters long near Busan Station in Choryang-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, was suddenly flooded. Nine people were rescued, but two men in their 50s and 60s and a woman in her 20s ultimately died.

Police and firefighters who responded to the report urgently carried out drainage work while seven vehicles were completely submerged, deploying divers to conduct rescue operations.

At around 9:30 p.m., a landslide occurred in a residential area in Gwang-an-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan, causing three houses to collapse.

From 10:06 p.m., due to flooding around Busan Station on Busan Metro Line 1, the subway passed through without stopping.

Earlier, at around 9:10 p.m., the retaining wall of Yeongju Reservoir in Choryang-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, collapsed, damaging four vehicles.

Busan police reported that by 5 a.m. on the 24th, 705 calls were received through the 112 emergency number, with 3 deaths and 223 traffic control zones due to road flooding. Additionally, there were 81 signal malfunctions, 12 safety accidents, and 348 flooded roads, with a total of 141 vehicles damaged by flooding.

The police issued an Eulho emergency alert to 10 police stations in the Busan area and deployed 475 office workers to the field, indicating the urgency of the situation on the night of the 23rd.

At 10:32 p.m. that day, the coastal area connected to the reclaimed land and urban rivers suffered significant damage due to the coincidence with high tide.

The water levels of Dongcheon and Sujeongcheon in Busanjin-gu and Nam-gu rapidly rose due to the high tide, and combined with rainwater flowing into the rivers, the rivers overflowed, causing successive flooding damage to nearby houses.

According to the Busan Meteorological Office on the 24th, the heavy rain that fell in Busan on the 23rd recorded an hourly rainfall of 81.6mm, ranking within the top 10 record-breaking downpours since 1920. The daily rainfall ranked 7th in the past 20 years.

Although about a week remains in July, the monthly rainfall exceeded 650mm, ranking 2nd in the past 20 years. The Busan area was hit by a record-breaking heavy rain on the 10th and again by a powerful deluge on the 23rd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.