Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Yoon orders all-out efforts to cope with damage from downpour
President Yoon Suk Yeol listens to a villager during a visit to Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday, where fatal landslides occurred due to heavy rainfall. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
At least 40 people dead from heavy rain, flooding
By Lee Hyo-jin
President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the government, Monday, to mobilize all possible resources and measures to swiftly respond to the damage caused by severe flooding that has left at least 40 dead and thousands displaced across the nation.
Beginning last Thursday, the Chungcheong provinces and southern regions have been battered by record-breaking monsoon rainfall, which is expected to continue through Wednesday.
“The monsoon season has not ended yet and heavy rainfall is forecast again for tomorrow. These kinds of extreme climate situations should now be perceived as something that is always around us, and we must deal with them accordingly,” Yoon said during a meeting with officials from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
Yoon, who returned from an eight-day trip to three European countries early Monday morning, immediately convened the meeting where he was briefed on the flood damage situation by the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the weather agency.
The president also delivered condolences to the victims of the flood and landslides.
“If we look at the areas where the losses occurred, it seems that inadequate management of high-risk areas, such as landslide-prone regions, worsened the situation,” he said, stressing that preemptive evacuation orders are crucial to preventing damage in disaster situations.
Yoon ordered the mobilization of military personnel and police officers in recovery and rescue operations and called for heavily-damaged regions to be designated as special disaster zones eligible for financial support from the government.
Forensic officers examine a damaged car which was retrieved from a flooded tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Monday. Yonhap
According to the country's disaster response agency, the days-long torrential rainfall claimed the lives of at least 40 people and nine remain missing as of 11 a.m., Monday.
Among the total deaths, 19 were reported in North Gyeongsang Province, followed by 16 in North Chungcheong Province, four in South Chungcheong Province and one in Sejong City.
While the number of deaths and casualties is expected to rise as rescue operations continue, the latest figure already marks the highest number in 12 years. A total of 78 casualties were reported in the monsoon season of 2011, due mainly to a fatal landslide on Mount Woomyeon in Seoul.
As of Monday morning, four more bodies were recovered overnight from a flooded tunnel in Osong, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, raising the death toll from the tunnel to 13. On Saturday morning, 16 vehicles, including a public bus, were swamped in the four-lane underpass by a flash flood shortly after a levee in the adjacent Miho River collapsed.
After the rescue operation is finished, the police are set to launch an investigation to find the exact cause of the accident. Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency said it will look into why local authorities did not close the tunnel or restrict traffic. The investigation may also target the management of the levee by city officials.
As of 11 a.m., Monday, at least 13 people are confirmed to have died due to fatal landslides in Yecheon, Bonghwa, Youngju and Mungyeong, all of which are in North Gyeongsang Province, while nearly 3,000 people from 1,900 households have been displaced in those regions.
Rice fields are flooded with water in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap
According to the agriculture ministry, the flash flood wiped out at least 570,000 livestock ― including 530,000 chickens, 43,000 ducks and 3,000 pigs ― and some 26,000 hectares of crops across the nation.
The torrential rainfall also damaged dozens of cultural heritage sites, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration, including Gongsanseong Fortress in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mungyeong Saejae, a fortified mountain pass and Andong Hahoe Village, both of which are located in North Gyeongsang Province, were also partially damaged due to the rainfall.