Over 10,000 Evacuated Due to Heavy Rain... 49 Dead or Missing, Highest in 12 Years

Due to the recent heavy rain, it has been reported that 10,765 people from 6,285 households evacuated across 119 cities and counties in 16 provinces nationwide.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) on the 17th, the numbers are as follows: 1,481 households and 2,892 people in Chungnam, 1,785 households and 2,715 people in Gyeongbuk, 1,354 households and 2,513 people in Chungbuk, and 610 households and 1,028 people in Jeonbuk. As of 6 p.m. that day, 2,473 households and 4,348 people who temporarily evacuated had not yet returned home.

The death toll remains at 40, and the number of missing persons is 9, unchanged since the 11 a.m. count. The number of deaths and missing persons is the highest in 12 years since 2011.

By region, the number of deaths is 19 in Gyeongbuk, 16 in Chungbuk, 4 in Chungnam, and 1 in Sejong. The number of deaths from the flooded underground passage accident in Osong, Chungbuk, where 17 vehicles were submerged, is currently confirmed to be 13. Missing persons include 1 in Busan and 8 in Gyeongbuk, and the injured total 34, including 17 in Gyeongbuk.

Facility damages include 789 cases in public facilities and 352 cases in private facilities, concentrated in Chungnam, Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, and Jeonbuk. There were 164 cases of road slope erosion and collapse, and 98 cases of road damage and loss. Soil runoff occurred in 116 cases, and river embankment losses reached 170 cases. Damage also included 139 flooded houses and 53 damaged houses.

The scale of agricultural damage is 26,933.5 hectares (26,893.8 hectares flooded, 39.7 hectares of fallen fruit), with 180.6 hectares of farmland lost, buried, or damaged. Livestock deaths totaled 579,000, including 533,000 chickens.

Additionally, 269 roads, 837 riverside areas, 256 floodplain parking lots, 100 forest trail sections, and 489 national park trails were preemptively controlled.

Rail services resumed on five lines including the Gyeongbu Line for regular trains that day, but nine lines remain suspended. KTX operates only on the Gyeongbu, Honam high-speed lines, and the Gangneung line.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, as of 6 p.m., heavy rain warnings were in effect for southern inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon, the Chungcheong region, southern regions, and Jeju Island. Some areas in the inland Chungcheong region, Jeolla region, and inland Gyeongsang region experienced very heavy rain of 30 to 60 mm per hour accompanied by gusts, thunder, and lightning.

Expected rainfall until the 19th is 100 to 200 mm in Chungcheong, southern regions, and Jeju; 30 to 100 mm in southern inland and mountainous Gangwon, Ulleungdo, and Dokdo; and 10 to 60 mm in Seoul, Incheon, northern Gyeonggi, and Gangwon (excluding southern inland and mountainous areas).

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