Weather Authority Wrong on Forecasts for 5th Straight Week

The Korea Meteorological Administration is the target of intense public outrage after releasing inaccurate weather forecasts for the fifth week in a row.

The weather watchdog said late Friday that the eastern coast and North Gyeongsang Province would get 20-60 millimeters of rain, while Seoul and Gyeonggi Province would get five to 30 millimeters.

The eastern coast, however, saw little rain while more than 100 millimeters fell in parts of Gyeonggi Province.

A heavy rain advisory was issued for northern Gyeonggi Province after heavy rain fell from 1 a.m. Saturday. Forecasters also belatedly issued an advisory in Seoul at 9 a.m. after 55 millimeters of rain fell early that morning, but canceled it just two hours later because of no more rain.

A source from the weather office said, “More rain fell in northern Gyeonggi Province than expected as rain clouds formed by a seasonal rain front clashed with cold air coming from the East Sea.”

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters also said yesterday that torrential rain that had begun Wednesday killed seven people, left five missing and displaced 1,296 others.

Forty-five homes were also destroyed and 573 submerged. About 187 hectares of farmland were swept away or buried and 1,031 hectares were submerged.

Damage was also suffered by 33 road and four railway sections and 43 rivers and creeks.

Bonghwa County in North Gyeongsang Province suffered rain of 40 millimeters per hour Friday, resulting in a landslide that left four dead and four missing.

The same day in Bonghwa, a collapsed embankment of a rail line hit a home nearby, killing a 77-year-old woman and her 54-year-old daughter.

A van was also swept away by swift currents, leaving two dead and two missing.

The rain displaced 220 Bonghwa residents from about 100 households. Some 190 homes were damaged and 200 hectares of farmland were submerged or swept away in the county.

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