Water storage rate at drought-hit Gangneung's reservoir rises for 1st time in 52 days

Waters upstream of the Obong Reservoir in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, flow under falling rain Saturday. Yonhap

The water storage rate at drought-stricken Gangneung's main water supply reservoir rose Saturday for the first time in 52 days following heavy rain overnight, weather officials said.

The storage rate at the Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87 percent of residential water to Gangneung, about 210 kilometers east of Seoul, stood at 12.1 percent at 10 a.m., up 0.6 percentage points from the previous day, according to the regional weather agency.

It marks the first increase since July 23, though the drought remains far from over, officials said. A state of national disaster was declared for the east coast city August 30.

The water increase followed heavy overnight rain in Gangwon Province's coastal and mountainous regions, including 140 millimeters in Sokcho, 100 mm in Yangyang and 91.5 mm in Gangneung, as of 10 a.m.

The last time daily rainfall in Gangneung exceeded 30 mm was two months ago on July 15, when it reached 39.7 mm.

President Lee Jae Myung welcomed the rain in a Facebook post.

"Though the aftermath of the drought that began July 6 cannot be resolved by this rain, I hope it will bring at least a little comfort to the citizens of Gangneung who are suffering to the point they cannot even do laundry or take showers due to the indefinite restricted water supply," he wrote.

Lee also vowed to prevent similar inconveniences by strengthening management systems in response to environmental issues, including climate change.