300mm Heavy Rainfall in Gangwon... 2 Dead, 105 Evacuated

In Gangwon Province, where heavy rain exceeding 300mm poured over five days, two people have died and 105 residents have evacuated, with damages accumulating.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Gangwon Province Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 17th, there have been a total of two casualties so far, one each in Wonju and Jeongseon. Authorities classified both deaths as safety accidents rather than casualties caused by natural disasters.

Residents have repeatedly evacuated to safe places due to concerns over house flooding or landslides. In Wonju, 64 people from 35 households, in Yeongwol, 39 people from 27 households, and in Jeongseon and Inje, one person from one household each, totaling 105 people from 64 households, took refuge in village halls or senior centers. Among them, 94 people from 58 households have returned home, while 11 people from 6 households remain in village halls or nearby lodging facilities.

Additionally, there have been repeated cases of structures collapsing and rocks and soil sliding down. So far, private property damages include one retaining wall collapse in Wonju, one half-damaged house in Inje, one flooded house in Jeongseon, as well as 7.86 hectares of crops, 3.6 hectares of vinyl greenhouses, and 0.76 hectares of farmland lost.

Public facilities have also suffered 13 damages including 4 rockfalls, 1 flooding, 1 subsidence, 1 road washout, 3 soil outflows, 1 retaining wall overturn, and 2 river crossing floods. Due to the heavy rain, operations of the Taebaek Line, Yeongdong Line, Jungang Line, and tourist trains have been suspended. Nine riverside parking lots in Hongcheon, Hoengseong, Wonju, Pyeongchang, and Jeongseon are also closed to traffic.

According to the Gangwon Regional Meteorological Administration, the accumulated rainfall from midnight on the 13th to 5 p.m. on the same day was 336.5mm in Wonju Sinrim, 311.5mm in Jeongseon Sabuk, 307.0mm in Yeongwol, 280.5mm in Pyeongchang, 258.0mm in Wonju Gwirae, and 208.5mm in Chuncheon Nami Island.

Heavy rain warnings remain in the southern inland areas, with rain expected until the 19th. The forecasted rainfall is 30 to 100mm in the southern inland and mountainous areas, with some places receiving over 120mm. The central and northern inland and mountainous areas, as well as the East Coast, will see 10 to 60mm of rain.

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