At least 14 people have lost their lives in South Korea due to floods and landslides triggered by several days of heavy rainfall, according to the country’s disaster management agency.
Rescue operations are still underway, with 12 people reported missing, raising concerns that the death toll may increase.
Video footage from the resort town of Gapyeong on Sunday showed residents wading through thick mud and crossing a damaged bridge to reach evacuation shelters. In the central Chungcheong region, an entire village was buried under earth and debris following a landslide on Saturday.
The southern regions of the country have suffered the most damage, with six fatalities and seven people missing in Sancheong. Floodwaters have damaged and submerged thousands of roads and buildings, while extensive harm has been reported to farmland and livestock.
Since the torrential rain began on Wednesday, nearly 10,000 people have been forced to evacuate, and over 41,000 households have experienced temporary power outages, local media reported.
While the rain has eased in some of the hardest-hit southern and central areas, it moved north overnight. More heavy rainfall is forecast for Seoul and the northern regions on Sunday.
On Sunday, President Lee Jae-myung declared the most severely affected areas as special disaster zones and initiated a coordinated government response for recovery. Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung urged local governments to deploy “all available resources” without delay.
In Gapyeong County, two people were killed when a landslide buried several homes in mud, according to officials cited by AFP.
Although the rainfall is expected to end late Sunday, an intense heatwave is likely to follow.
