South Korea Suffers Worst Rainfall in Eight Decades
Flash floods create chaotic scenes in Seoul, while North Korea dumps surprise floodwaters downstream
SEOUL—South Korea’s heaviest rainfall since World War II submerged cars on the streets, flooded subway stations and left at least eight people dead.
The downpours also hit neighboring North Korea, which added to the chaos by discharging floodwaters near the two countries’ border without giving advance notice as required by an inter-Korean accord. Water levels near one border-area bridge rose to nearly 17 feet Monday afternoon, or six times higher than normal, South Korean officials said.
Rainfall approached 16 inches in some parts of South Korea on Monday and Tuesday. That led to flash flooding that created particular disruption across the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where roughly half of the country’s 52 million people reside.
 Downtown Seoul suffered traffic jams on Tuesday due to vehicles left in the middle of streets. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
At one point Monday evening, several Seoul neighborhoods got deluged with rainfall that dropped at a rate of 5.5 inches per hour, the heaviest downpour since August 1942, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The Seoul area is expected to get another 12 inches of rain through Wednesday, it predicted.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol presided over an emergency response meeting on Tuesday morning, ordering authorities to prevent casualties and recover flooded areas. Authorities asked companies to adjust working hours and raised the nation’s crisis alert to its highest level. The military stands ready to assist with relief efforts, the Defense Ministry said.
About 80 sections of South Korea’s roads were blocked, while entry to 134 hiking trails was blocked, Seoul officials said. More than 400 people were forced to evacuate from their homes in the Seoul area, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
 The Seoul area is expected to get another 12 inches of rain through Wednesday.Photo: YONHAP NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS
Images published by local news and shared on social media captured scenes reminiscent of an apocalyptic movie.
One showed a stranded man sitting atop his vehicle—without an umbrella in hand—as the water reached his windshield. Another captured abandoned city buses and nearly fully submerged taxis near a busy intersection in the posh Gangnam district. Rainwater crashed down the stairs and gushed out of the ceiling at several underground subway stations. Workers waded through waist-high waters to get home.
Downtown Seoul suffered severe rush-hour traffic jams on Tuesday due to the sheer number of vehicles left in the middle of busy streets.
Of the eight fatalities, four people died after being trapped in flooded buildings, according to South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. At least six people are reported missing.
“The government must review the current disaster management system, given the abnormal weather caused by climate change is becoming a part of everyday life,” Mr. Yoon said on Tuesday.
 Submerged cars in the Gangnam district of Seoul on Monday.Photo: YONHAP/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
In North Korea, heavy rain warnings were issued in the southern and western parts of the country. Pyongyang’s main newspaper described the rain as disastrous and called for measures protecting farmland. State-media footage showed the Taedong River, which runs through Pyongyang, flooding pathways in the capital. Up to 3 inches of rain is forecast in the eastern Gangwon province and the border city of Kaesong, according to North Korean state-media broadcasts.
North Korea is repeatedly opening and closing the floodgates of a dam near its border with South Korea, Seoul officials said Tuesday. Pyongyang didn’t alert Seoul beforehand.
In September 2009, the North Korean discharge of dam waters created downstream floods that killed six South Koreans. The following month, the two Koreas struck an agreement under which North Korea is required to notify the South in advance when releasing floodwaters.
In June, South Korea’s unification ministry made a public request for Pyongyang to uphold the terms of that inter-Korean agreement, as North Korea was experiencing heavy rainfall at the time. North Korea didn’t respond to the request.
 North Korea is repeatedly opening and closing the floodgates of a dam near its border with South Korea, Seoul officials said. Photo: yonhap/EPA/Shutterstock
On Monday afternoon, water levels rose to nearly 17 feet at the Pilseung Bridge, located at the southern boundary of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, according to local provincial officials. The water level had receded to about 13 feet as of Tuesday morning. The typical water levels are under 3 feet.
The chances remain low of damage being caused by the Kim Jong Un regime’s release of dam waters, though authorities are closely monitoring the situation, South Korea’s unification ministry said.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com |
