Floods in Korea during the Monsoon season
[Excerpted from CNN, Korea Times, and Korea Herald]
1. On June...
Floods From Heavy Rainfalls Cause Damages
[Korea Times, 06/26/97]
Heavy damages have been inflicted on farmlands and railroads in southern and central parts of the nation due to heavy rainfalls of up to 290 mm as of yesterday afternoon.
... Heavy rainfall warnings have been posted all across the nation except Cheju Island. Some sections of the railroad and farming areas in many parts of the nation have been inundated. The operations of domestic flights and passenger ships were crippled due to the rain.
A passenger car with five people slipped into a river, killing all five people aboard early yesterday morning in Chinju, Kyongsang-namdo.
... The heaviest rainfalls were recorded in and around Namhae, Kyongsang-namdo, which had 293.5 mm as of 7 a.m. yesterday. The average rainfall across the nation was reported to be as much as 200 mm.
... A house owned by Kim Sun-kum, 54, in Milyang near Pusan, was flooded due to the heavy rain at around 4 a.m. yesterday. Also, five vehicles parked at a parking lot of an apartment in Masan were swept away into the river.
The airports in Kimhae, Ulsan, Sachon and Yosu were closed yesterday morning due to the heavy rain coupled with strong winds, causing temporary inconvenience to the people. Flights to and from the areas were resumed from the afternoon as the rainfall dwindled.
The operations of more than 110 passenger ships headed for 96 different destinations off the south and west coasts were crippled during the morning.
Heavy Rains Hit Nation for Second Day, Cause Floods, Traffic Paralysis
[Korea Herald, 06/26/97]
... With a heavy rainfall warning in effect, Korea has received 300 mm (30 cm) of precipitation during the two-day period, according to weather reports.
``The country has been under the direct influence of a seasonal rain front, now stretching over the Korean Peninsula,'' the Korea Meteorological Administration said.
As of 9 a.m. yesterday, the weather office said that precipitation figures were as follows; Namhae, 294 mm; Yosu, 248mm; Masan, 205 mm; Taejon, 132 mm and Seoul, 70 mm.
... Mud slides buried five areas, including a 10-meter track section in Changwon, South Kyongsang Province, on the Pusan-Masan line. An 8 km section on the Seoul-Yosu line was completely inundated.
... The heavy rains inundated 380 ha of farmlands in Poryong, 211 ha in Yongi, 190 ha in Hongsong and 30 ha in Kongju.
A series of traffic accidents occurred as roads became slippery. Eight people were killed and dozens injured in car crashes across the country.
2. On July...
Torrential Rain Paralyzes Rush Hour Traffic at Seoul, Central Region
[Korea Times, 07/01/97]
Amid heavy warnings posted in most of the nation, more than 100 mm of rain pounded down on Seoul and the central part of the nation yesterday, paralyzing rush hour traffic in the capital area.
... The recorded precipitation, as of yesterday, was 178.6 millimeters in Sosan, Chungchong-namdo, 130 millimeters in Inchon, 123.7 millimeters in Suwon, 108.1 millimeters in Seoul, 82.7 millimeters in Kunsan, 77 millimeters in Asan, and 55.5 millimeters in Hapchun, Kyongsang-namdo.
The torrential downpour of 20 millimeters per hour during rush hours caused serious traffic jams with many roads in the central Seoul inundated. The traffic crossing Yanghwa Bridge was under police control as two lanes were flooded with rain and the riverside highway section between the Seokang and Sungsan Bridges was restricted for fear of floods.
Flights to five local airports were cancelled due to the heavy rain yesterday together with 56 ferries on 35 sea routes, causing extreme inconvenience to the passengers.
... The Central Anti-Disaster Headquarters instructed concerned authorities to open the gate of Paldang Dam and discharge 1,850 tons of water per second to prevent an overflow of the Han River.
Three Dead Due to Flooding, Monsoon Rain to Ease Today
[Korea Times, 07/02/97]
Three deaths and a great deal of property damage were caused by the torrential rain that drenched Seoul and the central part of the nation Monday through yesterday.
... Three people drowned including Park Song-yong, 66, in Poun, Chungchong-pukto, after getting swept away in a stream swollen by the torrential rain late Tuesday.
Some 10,000 hectares of farmland in kyonggi-do and Chungchong-namdo areas were inundated by the flood.
Also large losses were reported in livestock. Some 60,000 chickens and ducks were swept away in Sosan and Kongju, Chungchong-namdo.
3. On August...
11 killed, 3 missing in South Korea floods
[CNN, 08/05/97]
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Two days of torrential rains dumped an estimated 20 inches (500 mm) of water in some areas of South Korea, creating floods and landslides that killed at least 11 people.
Three more were missing, and more than 100 people were left homeless, South Korean officials said Tuesday.
The victims included a family of five crushed to death in a landslide which engulfed their house Monday in a secluded mountainous area in the central province of Chungchong.
Two other victims were killed after a swollen river swept them away in eastern Kangwon province. Another woman died when river banks broke in Chungchong province. And a man was crushed to death when a retaining wall collapsed in southwestern Cholla province.
Key roads in Chungchong province were swamped under several feet of water, and commuters in many areas were stranded.
Last summer, torrential rains killed 63 South Koreans, many of them soldiers whose barracks were buried under tons of mud from a landslide.
Torrential Downpours Wreak Havoc Nationwide, Leave 5 Dead and 4 Missing
[Korea Times, 08/04/97]
Nearly two days of torrential downpours Sunday and Monday wreaked havoc on transportation systems everywhere while landslides and flood waters have left four dead and five others missing.
... As of yesterday afternoon, five were confirmed dead and another four declared missing from the sudden thunderstorms, the Natural Disaster Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters (NDPCH) said.
Five family members were buried in their home by a landslide in Okchon-gun, Chungchong-pukto, early yesterday morning. Of the five, one was rescued but three others including the owner of the house were found dead while another remained missing.
Some 200 vacationers found themselves stranded by a sudden rise in water caused by heavy rainfall Sunday afternoon in Pyongchang, Kangwon-do and Pochon, Kyonggi-do areas, but were all saved by emergency rescue teams.
The two days of downpours flooded at least 2,725 hectares of farmland and 160 homes, according to the NDPCH.
The heaviest recorded rainfall around the nation was Kyonggi-do's Kanghwa area with 421 mm, followed by Taejon 332.7 mm, Namwon 152.5 mm, Kumsan 152 mm, Suwon 150.6 mm, Chonju 135.9 mm, Puyo 127.5 mm, Chongju 120.5 mm, Yangpyong 119.5 mm, and Seoul 62.9 mm.
Heavy Rains Cause Deaths, Losses; At Least Nine Killed or Missing after 390mm of Rain Falls
[Korea Herald, 08/05/97]
... At least nine people were killed or missing as a result of landslides or drownings after up to 390mm of rain fell. Hardest hit were central parts of the nation, stretching from North Chungchong Province to North Cholla Province, with the level reaching well over 100mm.
Some parts of local roads and railways were washed away by the floods, and huge areas of low-lying farmlands were inundated during the weekend. The torrential downpours flooded two sections of the Seoul- Pusan railway in Taejon, suspending the operation of 20 trains early yesterday morning.
With storm warnings posted in the West Sea yesterday, ferries plying between Inchon and five major western islands also had to halt operations, maritime officials said. A number of domestic flights, including those from Kimpo International Airport to Mokpo, South Kyongsang Province, were canceled due to bad weather yesterday.
Government officials estimated that 100 low-lying houses and more than 30ha of farmlands were flooded by the weekend heavy downpours. Meanwhile, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast that the storms, caused by a low pressure system stretching from China to Korea, are expected to dump more rain today.
