Photo via Korea Times
South Korea’s worst storm in more than 100 years resulted in massive floods and mudslides that have killed 36 people so far.
The Korea Times reported that an additional 11 people are missing as the country’s central regions were hit particularly hard on Tuesday and Wednesday. The National Emergency Management Agency said casualties are expected to rise as heavy rain is predicted to persist through Friday.
Flood waters inundated main roads, residential areas and basement facilities in and around Seoul, cutting the power supply at 14,000 homes and leaving thousands of vehicles submerged on flooded roads.
Seventeen residents were killed in the wreckage from landslides that occurred at hillside villages on Mt. Umyeon in Seocho, southern Seoul.
Among the casualties was Yang Myeong-sook, 63, the wife of Shinsegae Department Store Chairman Koo Hak-su. She drowned while examining the flooded basement of her house located at the foot of the mountain, police said.
Northeast of Seoul, 11 college students were killed in Chuncheon when a mudslide destroyed five residential buildings.
The students from Inha University in Incheon were sleeping with other colleagues and tourists at a lodging house when the landslide hit. They were staying there to do voluntary work during their vacation.
Korean meteorologists said the central regions of South Korea were hit by 110 millimeters (4.3 inches) an hour from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, a staggering amount of rain last seen a century ago, according to the Korea Times.
Photo via New York Times
