Heavy rain, heavy flooding, damages in parts of South Korea

SEOUL, Oct 19: Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds hit Seoul and several other parts of South Korea on Sunday, causing flooding in urban areas as well as creating national security risks, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to Seoul city officials, heavy rains caused some areas of the city to be submerged when falling leaves blown by strong winds clogged the levee system.

The Gangbuk region north of Seoul recorded a peak rainfall of 53.5 millimetres (mm) per hour, which was the highest hourly rain intensity nationwide during the storm.

As of 5 p.m., the Seoul Fire Department has received 129 emergency calls, including 47 requests for drainage aid, 21 reports of fallen trees and 60 requests for public safety inspections.

Seoul issued an emergency warning via short message service at 3.16pm, urging residents to stay away from low- and high-risk areas following heavy rainfall in strong winds.

Despite heavy rain warnings for the northeast, northwest and southwest regions being lifted at 3.30 pm, heavy rains continued throughout the evening.

Rainfall accumulated as of 5 pm recorded a peak reading of 65 mm in Gangbuk district, while Songpa district in southern Seoul recorded the lowest reading in the city, at 20 mm.

Rising water levels have forced city authorities to restrict access to 16 major streams in the urban area.

Traffic flows were also disrupted on some major routes. The road under Jeungsan Bridge in Seodaemun district was completely closed at about 3.04 pm due to flooding.

Weather warnings were also issued for major highways, urging drivers to be careful when crossing wet roads and in the face of strong winds.

A tree fell on a busy road in Gangnam district south of Seoul, blocking traffic and pedestrian movement.

In Eunpyeong district in northwestern Seoul, water levels in some low-lying areas rise to above knee level.

Several shopkeepers were seen cleaning up their own pile of fallen leaves that clogged drainage holes to accelerate water flow.

Bad weather also led to the cancellation of several major outdoor public events, including the Grand Mint Festival scheduled to take place at the Olympic Park in Songpa.

Seoul activated the Stage 1 emergency response protocol at 2:40 p.m. and operates parts of 12 rainwater pump stations to drain water from flooded roads.

"Even though the rain seems to be receding, reports of damage continue to be received", said a Seoul official.

"Our priority is to resolve outstanding safety reports as soon as possible and prevent subsequent accidents through close cooperation with the district offices", he said.

Incheon, located west of Seoul and some areas in Gyeonggi province near the capital, were also damaged by bad weather.

According to firefighters and weather officials, three people were rescued after being trapped in a vehicle on an underwater road in Incheon shortly before 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Authorities received 323 reports of damage from strong winds and rain in Gyeonggi, while 78 cases were reported in Incheon.

Trees and signs of business premises were blown up in some areas in Incheon, Gyeonggi province, South Chungcheong province, North Jeolla province and Jeju Island in the south of the country.

According to Incheon International Airport Corp., a total of 40 flights were canceled on Sunday due to bad weather, with 36 of them cancelled earlier based on weather forecasts, while four more were canceled that day.

In addition, 34 flights were delayed and nine flights had to be cancelled.