Seoul: Heavy downpours lashed South Korea for the ninth day as rescue workers struggled to search for survivors in landslides, buckled homes, and swamped vehicles in the most destructive storm to hit the nation this year. At least 40 people died, 34 others were injured and more than 10,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding the country.
The severest damage has been concentrated in South Korea’s central and southern regions. In the central city of Cheongju, hundreds of rescue workers, including divers continued to search for survivors in the muddy tunnel where about 15 vehicles including a bus got trapped in flash floods. The government has deployed nearly 900 rescue workers to the tunnel who have so far pulled up 13 bodies and rescued nine people who have been taken to hospital for treatment.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who just returned from an overseas trip today convened a disaster response meeting and conceded the situation was made worse due to poor management of vulnerable areas. He further blamed authorities failure to follow disaster response rules and vowed to completely overhaul the nation’s approach to extreme weather from climate change.
The incident has now fuelled question over South Korea’s efforts to prevent and respond to flood damage. Some drivers who use the road regularly blamed the government for failing to ban access to the underpass even though floods were widely forecasted.