Over 300mm of Rain Hits Seoul Metropolitan Area in a Day... Central Disaster Headquarters Raises Alert to Level 2

Heavy Rain Hits Paju with 302.9mm Total
Up to 70mm Per Hour Expected This Morning
Rain Likely to Continue Until Liberation Day Afternoon

With more than 300mm of rain falling in a single day in the Seoul metropolitan area, resulting in fatalities, up to 70mm of rain per hour is expected to continue on the 14th.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, from the 13th until 5 a.m. on this day, Paju in Gyeonggi Province recorded a cumulative rainfall of 302.9mm. This was followed by Ongjin in Incheon with 274.0mm, Gimpo in Gyeonggi with 256.0mm, Dobong in Seoul with 251.0mm, and Goyang in Gyeonggi with 248.5mm, with heavy rain concentrated mainly in the metropolitan area. Heavy rain warnings, as well as landslide advisories and flood alerts, have been issued for Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi regions.

Yonhap News

The sudden downpour also resulted in one fatality in Gimpo. An elderly man in his 80s was found dead in the back seat of a car that had been swept away by the water. A total of 733 people evacuated to avoid the rain, including 202 in Seoul, 238 in Incheon, and 293 in Gyeonggi Province.

There has also been significant damage to infrastructure. A total of 208 roads have been flooded, and facilities such as Korea Aerospace University Station and welfare centers have been submerged. Additionally, 146 cases of flooding have been reported at private properties, including homes and commercial buildings. The Dongbu Expressway, which had been closed the previous day due to rising water levels in the Jungnangcheon stream, reopened at around 5 a.m. after 17 hours of closure. However, road closures due to heavy rain continue on National Route 77 (Paju Dangdong IC interchange), Route 3 (Bongdong Tunnel exit), and other areas.

At 6:30 p.m. the previous day, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised its emergency response to Level 2 and elevated the disaster crisis alert to the "Caution" stage. Yoon Ho-jung, head of the headquarters, issued an urgent directive to focus all efforts on controlling high-risk areas and evacuating residents, with the goal of minimizing casualties.

The rain in the central regions is forecast to continue until Liberation Day on the 15th. This is due to a stationary front formed by the collision of dry air descending from the north and moist air rising from the south. In the metropolitan area, rainfall of 30 to 70mm per hour is expected until the morning, while about 30mm per hour is expected in the inland and northern mountainous areas of Gangwon and in northern Chungcheongnam-do. The rain is expected to temporarily ease from the afternoon to the evening, but will continue until the afternoon of the 15th.

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