More Rain, Flooding Expected in Korea

The development of a seasonal rain front wreaked great havoc in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces yesterday with a heavy downpour that exceeded 30 millimeters per hour in Seoul. The regions suffered from floods which forced residents to evacuate their homes.

Those areas are likely to see further damage today as rainfall of as much as 250 millimeters is expected in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.

A southwesterly wind delivered a great amount of water vapor from the fifth typhoon of the year, Kaemi, to the rain front that hovered over the central part of Korea yesterday. The result was a downpour exceeding 100 millimeters in Midwest Korea. As of 5:00 p.m. yesterday, the rainfall reached 159 millimeters in Seoul, 137.5 millimeters in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi province, 134 millimeters in Chuncheon and 111.5 millimeters in Inje, Gangwon province.

Things were especially bad in Gangwon Province, which had already suffered from a big flood disaster, as 142 millimeters of rainfall added to the calamity yesterday. The authorities issued an evacuation order to 1,362 residents in 16 villages in Inje and Pyeongchang.

Meanwhile, the rain caused severe traffic congestion in Seoul during the evening rush hour as three road sections, including the Jamsu Bridge and the two-way road between Seobinggo-dong and Banpo-dong, were blocked due to rain.

The forecast rainfalls for today are 100 to 200 millimeters (maximum more than 250 millimeters) in Seoul, Gyeonggi and western Gangwon, 50 to 100 millimeters (maximum more than 150 millimeters) in Chungcheong and eastern Gangwon, 20 to 50 millimeters (maximum more than 100 millimeters) in North Jeolla, North Gyeongsang provinces, Ulleungdo and Dokdo, 10 to 40 millimeters in South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces and 5 to 30 millimeters in Jeju.

In response, the Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heavy rain warning in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces and maintained a heavy rain advisory in Dangjin, Taean and Seosan in South Chungcheong Province. Yesterday evening, it also issued a special heavy rain report in all of Chungcheong Province, North Jeolla and North Gyeongsang provinces.

This last round of seasonal rain is forecast to last until Saturday morning nationwide.

gaea@donga.com