South Korea experienced severe consequences on Saturday due to three consecutive days of heavy rains, resulting in seven fatalities, three missing individuals, seven injuries, and the evacuation of thousands of people. Landslides and dam overflow were the primary causes of these incidents.
As of 11 a.m. (0200 GMT), the Ministry of Interior and Safety reported that 1,567 individuals had been evacuated nationwide, and this number may increase as the dam in North Chungcheong province reached its capacity.
Provincial authorities stated that evacuation orders were issued for over 7,000 people at different times across local governments.
By 9 a.m., Goesan Dam was experiencing an inflow of more than 2,700 tonnes of water per second, which is its maximum discharge capacity.
Due to safety concerns such as landslides, track flooding, and falling rocks, Korea Railroad Corp decided to suspend all slow trains and some bullet trains. Delays were also expected for other bullet trains due to reduced operational speed.
Late on Friday, a slow train derailed in North Chungcheong province as a result of a landslide that covered the tracks with soil and sand. The engineer sustained injuries, but no passengers were present.
During a meeting with government agencies, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo urged the military to actively participate in rescue efforts, collaborating with government officials to mobilize equipment and personnel.
