Landslide Warning 'Severe' Issued for 13 Cities and Provinces Nationwide Including Seoul

The landslide warning alert has been raised to the 'Severe' level in 13 cities and provinces nationwide. The warning alert is divided into four levels: 'Interest - Caution - Warning - Severe.' 'Severe' is the highest level of the warning alert, indicating that the risk of landslides has significantly increased.

Last summer, a landslide occurred in a mountain near Sillim Middle School in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and officials are clearing soil and trees that spilled onto Sillim-ro. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 24th, as of 7 a.m. that day, the landslide warning alert was at the 'Severe' level in 13 cities and provinces nationwide, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Gangwon, Daejeon, Sejong, Chungnam, Chungbuk, Gwangju, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Gyeongnam, and Gyeongbuk.

At the same time, Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan were at the 'Warning' level, while Jeju remained at the 'Interest' level.

Earlier, the Korea Meteorological Administration issued heavy rain warnings for southern Gyeonggi, the Chungcheong region, northern Gyeongbuk, and the Jeolla region, forecasting strong rain of around 30mm per hour across most parts of the country until the 25th.

In particular, heavy rain accompanied by gusts of wind (30-60mm) is expected mainly in the Jeolla region.

Accordingly, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Korea Forest Service held a situation assessment meeting chaired by the head of the headquarters, comprehensively considering prior rainfall and landslide damage situations, and raised the landslide warning alert to 'Severe' in 13 cities and provinces nationwide.

With the landslide warning alert raised to the 'Severe' level in most regions nationwide, the Korea Forest Service plans to operate a 24-hour situation monitoring and rapid emergency response system centered on the head of the headquarters.

Nam Sung-hyun, head of the Korea Forest Service and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "Due to recent extreme rainfall, landslides are occurring in various parts of the country. Since heavy rain is expected in most regions nationwide, we will focus on proactive measures to prevent casualties."

He added, "We urge the public to pay close attention to emergency disaster messages and village broadcasts, and in case of an emergency, to promptly evacuate to safe places such as village halls and schools following evacuation guidance."

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