South Korea city deluged by almost a metre of rain, triggering deadly landslide

Original article by Guardian staff and agencies

Torrential downpours that pounded southern parts of South Korea since Saturday have killed one person and injured four others, officials have confirmed.

Heavy rains have been recorded in South Gyeongsang province, including the city of Geoje, where an 800mm (31in) deluge over the weekend triggered a landslide, the interior and safety ministry said. The rain continued on Monday, bringing the cumulative rainfall total to 912mm by 6pm.

Police and firefighters rescued three residents from an apartment building hit by the landslide, but one of them was found in cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to Yonhap.

Two people were injured in Geoje and two others in nearby cities, the ministry said.

Geoje received 805.7mm of rain from Saturday through to 8am on Monday, Yonhap reported, while the neighbouring city of Tongyeong received 671.9mm during the same period. Other parts of the province received between 240mm and 340mm of rain.

The heavy rains that have pummelled southern South Korea since Saturday have triggered warnings from authorities, forced about 390 people to evacuate and caused power outages at about 3,580 houses.

The Korea Herald quoted weather officials on Tuesday as saying that South Gyeongsang province had received an entire summer’s rainfall in just two days, with record daily rainfall totals in the two cities of Geoje and Tongyeong.

Twelve schools and kindergartens have reportedly flooded, while firefighters have received dozens of calls from residents seeking help with rain related damage and accidents, authorities said.

Prime minister Han Seong-sook also instructed police, firefighters and other authorities to make every effort to rescue stranded residents and others at risk from the heavy rain.

Heavy monsoon rains have also flooded key streets and snarled traffic in the Philippine capital, Manila, with the government on Monday suspending government work and asking schools to shift to online learning.

About three weeks of intermittent monsoon rains and a storm that lashed the main northern island region of Luzon two weeks ago left at least 23 people dead, mostly due to landslides and floods, and affected 5 million people, including nearly 25,000, who remained in government emergency shelters on Monday in several northern provinces, according to the office of civil defence.

Among the dead were 10 people, including children, whose houses were buried by an 9 August landslide in the northern mountain resort city of Baguio. Three others were dug out alive with injuries by rescuers from the avalanche of mud, rocks and debris that collapsed from a mountainside as people slept, officials said.

With Associated Press