Golden Time for Search and Rescue After Rain Stops... More Jangma Rain Expected This Weekend

Rain Subsides as Stagnant Front Moves South
"Additional Damage During August Typhoon Season Must Be Prepared in Advance"

As the monsoon front moved away, the period from the 19th, when the heavy rain stopped after a week, to the 21st is expected to be the 'golden time' for search and emergency recovery efforts in flood-affected areas. Strong rain is forecast again over the weekend, so search and damage recovery work must be accelerated before then.

On the 19th, most regions nationwide except for the Gyeongsang area saw the rain stop. This is because the stationary front moved southward, placing the Korean Peninsula on the edge of a high-pressure system located over China's Shandong Peninsula. Daytime temperatures in most areas rose to 31 degrees Celsius, and with high humidity, the perceived temperature reached 33 degrees Celsius, especially inland.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted, "The stationary front and low pressure will gradually move away, and the Seoul metropolitan area will be on the edge of the high-pressure system near the Shandong Peninsula. The Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon Province will be mostly clear, while the rest of the country will be mostly cloudy."

This weather pattern is expected to continue from the 19th through the 21st. Starting on the 21st, heavy and intense rain is forecast again, beginning with Jeju Island. Although Typhoon Talim, the 4th typhoon heading toward southern China and Vietnam, did not directly affect Korea, it brought a large amount of hot and humid air into the Korean Peninsula.

On the morning of the 19th, in a village in Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, declared a special disaster area by the government, vehicles and others were damaged. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Accordingly, voices are urging not to miss the golden time for searching for missing persons and damage recovery in flood-affected areas. Search operations at the Gungpyeong 2nd Underpass in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk Province have been completed, but in the Gyeongbuk region, where landslide damage was severe, search and recovery operations for five missing persons are still ongoing. Search efforts for a woman in her 60s who went missing on the 11th in Hakjangcheon, Busan, have also been ongoing for the ninth day.

Park Jeong-min, a forecast analyst at the Korea Meteorological Administration, emphasized, "There seems to be time to prepare on the 20th and 21st," adding, "Thorough preparation and preemptive measures are necessary on the 20th and 21st, which could be the golden time for emergency recovery and rescue operations."

There are also concerns that greater damage could occur if a typhoon hits in the future. Jang Seok-hwan, a professor in the Department of Construction Systems Engineering at Daejin University, said in an interview with Yonhap News TV's 'News Focus' on the 19th, "It seems to be the event with the highest number of deaths and missing persons since the 2011 landslide at Umyeonsan. Especially, it is rare to have so many casualties early in the monsoon season rather than during the typhoon season. If typhoons come in August, even greater damage could occur."

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