"If the Osong Temporary Levee Had Been Sturdier, Flooding Might Have Been Prevented"

Professor Ham Eun-gu, SBS Radio Interview
"Underground Underpass Lower Than Surroundings Functions as Drainage Channel"

Professor Ham Eun-gu of the Department of Fire and Disaster Safety at Korea Open Cyber University explained on the 17th regarding the underground passage flooding disaster in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, "Since it is an underground passage located at a much lower elevation than the surrounding rice fields and farmland, it acted as a kind of stormwater drainage basin, causing water levels to rise rapidly in just about 3 minutes."

In an interview with SBS Radio's 'Kim Taehyun's Political Show' on the same day, Professor Ham said, "Although a more precise investigation is needed, based on various information, it appears that it was not the embankment that burst, but a temporarily constructed embankment that failed," adding, "The temporary embankment itself was poorly built, leading to its collapse and subsequent erosion."

He continued, "If the temporary embankment had been constructed more solidly, the situation of rapid flooding like this might not have occurred."

Marine police officers are conducting a foot search at Gungpyeong 2 Underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, which was flooded due to the collapse of the Miho Stream embankment in the early morning of the 17th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Ham stated, "Usually, rainwater from the nearby watershed flows into the underground passage, which is the typical mechanism of flooding," and pointed out, "In this case, it was an unprecedented situation where river water actually flowed in due to the embankment collapse."

He further explained, "A similar case was the underground parking lot flooding accident in Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk, during Typhoon Hinnamnor last year," adding, "The nearby tributary overflowed, causing a sudden inflow of floodwater, and unfortunately, some people who could not escape in time lost their lives." He noted that the volume of water rushing in was different from other underground passage flooding cases.

Professor Ham also pointed out, "The entire Miho River area was already under a flood warning issued by the Geumgang Flood Control Office," and said, "Under flood warning conditions, appropriate control measures should be implemented for vulnerable places such as underground passages, but it seems these aspects were somewhat overlooked."

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