At least seven people have died in Seoul, South Korea after record rainfall hit the capital, Seoul. This devastating flood turned roads into rivers, drowning vehicles and flooding metro stations.
Rainfall of more than 100mm per hour was recorded in Seoul, the area around Gyeonggi Province, and the port city of Incheon on Monday (8/8) evening. Hourly rainfall in the Dongjak district exceeded 141.5 mm at one point. This is the worst hourly rainfall record to hit Seoul in 80 years.
So far, at least seven people are missing based on reports Tuesday (9/8) morning. Photos of the incident shared on social media show how Seoul residents are wading through waist-deep water, metro stations overflowing, and cars being half submerged, even in the upscale district of Gangnam.
According to local reports, three people, including a 13-year-old child, in the Gwanak district in southern Seoul died after their semi-basement was flooded. There was also a woman drowned at her home in the Dongjak district, and a public sector worker died while cleaning up a fallen tire. Allegedly, he was electrocuted by an electric current from a cable that entered the water.
Quoted from Yonhap news agency, Tuesday (8/9/2022) there are fears of further damage as heavy rain is expected for the second day in a row. The Korean meteorological administration issued a heavy rain warning across the capital and metropolitan area of 26 million people, as well as parts of Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces. They expect heavy rains in the central region of the country to continue until at least Wednesday (10/8).
Impact of climate change
South Korea is no stranger to heavy rains in the summer. But a meteorological administration official said the climate change emergency had caused a significant increase in rainfall and frequent heavy rains.
"This phenomenon is more common due to climate change, which results in prolonged summers," the meteorological administration official said on condition of anonymity.
Rainstorms also hit North Korea, where authorities issued heavy rain warnings for the south and west of the country.
North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun described the rains as a potential disaster and called for steps to protect agricultural land and prevent flooding in the Taedong River that flows through the capital Pyongyang.
Quoted from Reuters, climate change in the Arctic and Siberia is also contributing to extreme rains in East Asia, including South and North Korea.
This is due to the Arctic melting, narrowing the temperature gap between the Arctic and the Earth's midline region, and eventually triggering cold waves to flow toward the middle latitudes.