Streets in South Korea’s Busan overflow with floodwater
Seasonal rains in South Korea show the same flood potential this year as in China and Japan.
Intense rainfall combined with a high tide on Friday caused flooding in Busan, South Korea’s busiest port and second-biggest city.
The rain gauge in Busan captured 202mm (8 inches) during the previous 36 hours as a proper depression formed on the seasonal rain front, known as “jangma” in South Korea.
Three people were reportedly found dead in submerged cars in Busan on Thursday night. Another person is missing after being swept away by an overflowing river in Ulsan, to Busan’s north.
Disaster management officials reported that 195 people were evacuated and 51 people rescued nationwide.
Ulsan and Busan were two of the worst affected cities, with mudslides reported, hundreds of homes flooded, and roads and other transport links made impassable by floodwater. Power outages were also reported in Gyeonggi province in the northwest of the country, while some parts of Seoul’s intercity highways were closed due to flood water.
July is the wettest month of the year in South Korea, with an average of 395mm (15.5 inches) of rain falling in Seoul and 317mm (12.5 inches) in Busan.
So far this July, Busan has recorded 570mm (22.5 inches) of rain, in what has also been a very wet monsoon season in China and Japan.