South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol headed down to the storm-battered towns of South Korea, as the latest downpours left at least 40 people dead and nine missing in floods and landslides, according to the interior ministry.
Some 15 cities and provinces had evacuated 10,608 people from their homes while there were 631 cases of road and public facility damages as of 11 a.m. local time Monday, according to a statement on the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters website.
The President warns that rains are set to continue, and that more needs to be done as the nation suffers through deadly storms and heavy rainfall every summer.
“We all need to take this situation seriously and mobilize all available resources, including the military and police, and especially those on the ground to ensure that rescue efforts are carried out swiftly,” Yoon said.
He added that the rainy season isn’t over yet, including another downpour forecast for Tuesday, and that such weather events are due to climate change and will soon be seen as “normal.” He emphasized that the nation should start responding to such downpours as a regular event, instead of seeing it as an anomaly.
Ahead of the visit to the damaged areas of North Gyeongsang Province, southeast of capital Seoul, Yoon convened a meeting to organize rescue activities and coordinate cooperation between the military and police.
South Korea has deployed more than 5,600 soldiers and more than 100 equipment for rescue and recovery efforts across the country, Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu said at a briefing in Seoul.
Yoon had returned to South Korea this morning after attending a NATO summit in Lithuania last week, followed by trips to Poland and Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday.
Local police said it will launch an investigation into the tunnel incident in North Chungcheong Province’s Osong, which is linked to at least 13 deaths, according to a Yonhap News report. About 16 vehicles including a bus were trapped in the tunnel in the town after the underground road was flooded as a nearby river overflowed, the news agency said.
There were some minor issues with gas stations in Daejeon area, but they have been immediately repaired, according to an official at Hyundai Oilbank Co..
Posco Holdings Inc., the nation’s top steelmaker which last year halted production for several months due to Typhoon Hinnamnor, said it’s closely monitoring the weather to prevent any major impact from heavy rain.
Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang examined the safety measures of state-owned companies including Korea Electric Power Corp., the ministry said in a statement.
Jang Young-jin, first vice minister for trade, industry and energy, separately held a meeting to review major industrial facilities’ status following the storm, and called for prompt responses from companies to prevent human and material damage.
Another 100 to as much as 300 millimeters (11.8 inches) of rain is forecast to fall through Wednesday in the southern region, the Meteorological Administration said, adding to risks of very strong downpour.
Read more: Seoul to Ban ‘Parasite’-Type Basement Homes After Storm Deaths
South Korea suffers from storms and heavy rainfall every summer, with natural disasters claiming dozens of lives and damaging property annually. In 2022, Seoul was hit with one of the heaviest rain storms in 80 years, leaving hundreds of people without homes and thousands of buildings flooded.
--With assistance from Heesu Lee, Seyoon Kim and Heejin Kim.
(Updates with comments from the industry ministry, further details on the tunnel incident.)