Record Rain Leaves at Least 7 Dead in Seoul’s Monsoon Season

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SEOUL (Reuters) – At least seven people died in the South Korean capital of Seoul and metropolitan area overnight, authorities said on Tuesday, after torrential rain knocked out power and left roads and subways submerged.

The southern part of Seoul received more than 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) of rain per hour on late Monday, with some part of the city having received 141.5 millimeters, the heaviest rainfall recorded in the city in 80 years, according to local media citing Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

KMA data lists the heaviest ever rain on record to be the 145 millimeter hourly maximum that fell in Suncheon on July 31, 1998. The La Nina climate phenomenon, associated with warmer surface oceans and heavier rainfall in the Western Pacific, dominated regional climate patterns this year and in 1998 when this record was set.

The accumulated precipitation in Seoul stood at 420 millimeters (16.5 inches) as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, with more rain forecast.

In the glitzy, highly concentrated Gangnam district, some buildings were without power and had been inundated, while cars, buses and subway stations were submerged, leaving people stranded. Some stores had also been under water.

People make their way through a road that was flooded after torrential rain, at a traditional market in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 9, 2022. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

At least five people died in Seoul and two others in the neighbouring Gyeonggi Province as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said. Four died after being trapped in flooded buildings, one was electrocuted, one person was found under the wreckage of a bus stop, and another died in a landslide, it said.

At least nine people in the areas were injured, while six were missing.

The headquarters raised the crisis alert to the highest and requested public and private organizations to adjust their working hours.

The KMA issued heavy rain warnings across the capital and the metropolitan area as well parts of Gangwon and Chungcheong Province.

Such advisories are issued when precipitation is predicted to surpass 60 millimeters in a span of three hours or 110 millimeters in 12 hours.

The KMA expects heavy rainfall for the central part of the country to continue through at least Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.