Fire department logs 58 damage reports as trees topple, roads flood

Government activates central disaster response; up to 80mm more rain expected through Monday

A firefighter pumps out floodwater from a house in Dong-gu, Ulsan, on Sunday afternoon. [Yonhap]
A firefighter pumps out floodwater from a house in Dong-gu, Ulsan, on Sunday afternoon. [Yonhap]

Heavy rain driven by a stationary front battered South Jeolla Province and Gwangju on Sunday, causing widespread flooding across urban centers and surrounding areas.

According to the Gwangju Regional Meteorological Office, cumulative rainfall as of 6 p.m. Sunday reached 203.0 millimeters on Yeonggwang's Nagwoldo islet, 124mm in Naju, 116.5mm in Hwasun, 87.6mm on Yeonggwang's Anmado islet, 76.5mm in Gwangju's Dong-gu, 73.5mm in Yeongam and 58.1mm in Mokpo.

Peak hourly rainfall figures were equally intense: 100mm on Nagwoldo, 82mm in Hwasun, 37.5mm in Gwangju's Dong-gu, 33.3mm in Buk-gu, 31mm in Nam-gu and 30.5mm in Seo-gu, with rainfall of 30 to 80 millimeters or more per hour recorded across the region.

In Yeonggwang, a newly introduced "catastrophic rainfall emergency alert" was sent out at around 1:44 p.m. The alert is triggered — accompanied by a 40-decibel alarm — when 100mm of rain is recorded within an hour, or when hourly accumulated rainfall of 85mm and 15-minute accumulated rainfall of 25mm are observed simultaneously.

As the rain band moved eastward, the Korea Meteorological Administration upgraded heavy rain watches to heavy rain warnings for Boseong, Gwangyang and Suncheon at 5:30 p.m., then issued a new heavy rain watch for the southern part of Gokseong at 5:50 p.m. As the rain began to ease, the agency lifted heavy rain watches at 6:30 p.m. for Yeongam, most of Yeonggwang (excluding Nagwol-myeon), Jangseong, Jangheung, southeastern Naju and Yeonggwang's Nagwol-myeon. Heavy rain warnings remain in effect for four areas: Suncheon, Gwangyang, Hwasun and Boseong.

Flooding spread rapidly across urban and outlying areas. As of 6 p.m., fire authorities had received 58 rain-related damage reports — 36 in Gwangju and 22 in South Jeolla Province. In Gwangju, reports of flooded roads and overflowing manholes were coming in from Buk-gu, while a road near Singa Hospital in Singa-dong, Gwangsan-gu, was submerged. In South Jeolla Province, a street tree fell in Yeomsan-myeon, Yeonggwang-gun, at around 2:52 p.m., with fire crews completing safety measures on site, and drainage support was provided for housing and roads in the Yeongam area at around 4:10 p.m.

Access to several national parks in the region — including Mudeungsan, eastern Mudeungsan, the South Jeolla section of Jirisan, Wolchulsan and Naejangsan Baegam — was fully restricted.

Amid the deteriorating conditions, the Ministry of Interior and Safety raised the heavy rain disaster crisis alert from "Attention" to "Caution" at 5 p.m. Sunday and activated the first level of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, after heavy rain watches were issued across South Jeolla Province, Gwangju, Ulsan, North Jeolla Province and North Gyeongsang Province. Yun Ho-jung, head of the headquarters, urged the public to check weather updates frequently and stay away from rivers, valleys and other hazardous areas. "We ask that you actively cooperate with authorities' disaster information, controls and evacuation guidance," he said.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast an additional 30 to 80mm of rain for most parts of South Jeolla Province and Gwangju through Monday evening, with some areas expected to receive 20 to 30mm per hour.

"In areas where heavy rain falls in a short period of time, river and valley water levels can rise suddenly, so people should be particularly careful about safety accidents," a KMA official said.


psj@heraldcorp.com