Pedestrians walk with umbrellas during monsoon rains. [Yonhap]
Pedestrians walk with umbrellas during monsoon rains. [Yonhap]

Heavy monsoon rains overnight caused widespread damage across Greater Seoul and central parts of the country.

According to Yonhap and the Korea Meteorological Administration, cumulative rainfall recorded from Friday through 9 a.m. Saturday at key monitoring points included 192.5 millimeters in Paju, Gyeonggi Province; 181 mm in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province; 159.5 mm in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province; 125.9 mm in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province; and 110.5 mm in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province.

Heavy rain advisories for Seoul and Incheon were lifted Saturday morning, but alerts remained active for eastern Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province due to a stationary front and a low-pressure system that developed along it.

The downpours triggered a series of traffic accidents. At around 8:02 a.m. Saturday, a 25-seat bus and a passenger car collided on a road in Sacheon-myeon, Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

The bus overturned onto its side. Of the 12 passengers on board, six escaped on their own, while some among the remaining six sustained injuries.

At least one person was also stranded by flooding. In Paju, Gyeonggi Province, a woman in her 40s camping under a bridge was trapped by rising water at around 5:35 a.m. Saturday and was later rescued.

Homes and factories also flooded. A factory in Wonsan-ri, Haseong-myeon, Gimpo was inundated at around 2:57 a.m. Saturday, prompting fire department crews to deploy water pumps to drain the site.

Fifteen households in the low-lying Hwajeon-dong area of Deokyang-gu, Goyang were flooded, but drainage work was completed by around 8:30 a.m. Saturday and cleanup is now underway. A factory in Haseong-myeon, Gimpo, and a single-family home in Bucheon also suffered flood damage.

The water level at Pilseung Bridge on the southern limit of the demilitarized zone along the Imjin River in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, reached 1 meter — the threshold at which riverside visitors are ordered to evacuate — at around 8:10 a.m. Saturday. A flood watch was also issued for the Wondan Bridge point on the Gongneung Stream in Goyang at 6:20 a.m. Saturday.

Emergency calls surged as well. The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters and the Gyeonggi Province Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters said that as of 6 a.m., 80 incidents related to the heavy rain — including flooded homes and blocked roads — had been reported and addressed.

In Daejeon, four reports of fallen trees had been received by 9 a.m. Saturday, including one in Jang-dong, Daedeok-gu, where a tree blocked a road. Two similar reports were filed in Sejong, and fire department crews completed safety measures in both cases.

In Incheon, 54 emergency calls had been received by 5 a.m. Saturday, including a report of a tree felled by strong winds in Songhae-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, and a flooded road in Gwangyo-dong, Michuhol-gu.

Ferry services were also disrupted. Rough weather in the Yellow Sea halted operations on eight routes, affecting 11 passenger vessels including those serving the Incheon–Yeonpyeong Island and Incheon–Baengnyeong Island routes. Decisions on whether to resume service on seven additional routes — including Incheon–Deokjeok Island and Incheon–Ijak Island — were deferred pending weather conditions.

In Suseong-gu, Daegu, 89 millimeters of rain fell per hour in Jisan-dong at around 10:10 p.m. Friday, triggering an emergency disaster alert for catastrophic rainfall.

The catastrophic rainfall emergency alert, a new system introduced this year, is activated when hourly cumulative rainfall reaches 100 mm, or when hourly cumulative rainfall of 85 mm and 15-minute cumulative rainfall of 25 mm are recorded at the same time.

At around 8:13 p.m. Friday, a tree struck a railway line amid strong winds and rain in Sincheon-dong and Sinam-dong, Dong-gu, Daegu, cutting power to about 400 households. Electricity was restored within two hours.

Around the same time, four members of a family were rescued by firefighters after their home flooded and they became trapped in Goa-eup, Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. A total of 170 damage reports were filed across Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province over the two days.

At around 10:30 p.m. Friday, a rockslide on National Route 31 in Cheonpyeong-ri, Sangdong-eup, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Province, forced the full closure of the road.

The Korea Forest Service raised the landslide crisis alert level for Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province from "Caution" to "Alert" at 6 a.m. Saturday.

The landslide crisis alert system has four levels: Attention, Caution, Alert and Serious. The 12 other cities and provinces outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province remain under "Caution," while Jeju is under "Attention."


chami@heraldcorp.com