Torrential rain pounds South Korea for third day as thousands take shelter
World
Torrential rain warnings remain in effect for most of the country's western and southern regions
SEOUL (Reuters) – More than 5,000 people in South Korea have been forced into shelters as heavy rain pounded parts of the country for a third day, with the deluge killing at least four people and destroying property and infrastructure, the safety ministry said on Friday.
Torrential rain warnings remain in effect for most of the country's western and southern regions and the weather service has advised extreme caution against landslides and flooding through Saturday.
Some parts in the south including the city of Gwangju were hit by record precipitation of more than 400 millimetres (16 inches) in the past 24 hours as of early on Friday, the safety ministry said.
Four people have died and one remained missing, it said. Two were trapped in cars on flooded roads and another died in a basement under flood water in the central South Chungcheong province, it said.
A driver was also killed after a 10-metre-high (33 ft) roadside wall collapsed on top of a moving vehicle on Wednesday in Osan, some 44 kilometres (27 miles) south of Seoul, fire agency officials said.
PRESIDENT HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING
President Lee Jae Myung held a disaster management meeting on Friday as heavy rain pounded parts of the country for a third day.
“We should deploy sufficient, perhaps even excessive, resources to prevent damage and accidents,’ said Lee, who has been vocal about stepping up the government's role in disaster prevention and response.
“Every ministry and agency should mobilise all available resources and administrative capacity,” he added.
"I see there were cases where casualties occurred because of a poor response when the situation was reasonably predictable," he said.
More than 5,000 people in South Korea have been forced into shelters while four people have died and one remained missing, the safety ministry said.
Torrential rain warnings remain in effect for most of the country's western and southern regions and the weather service has advised extreme caution against landslides and flooding through Saturday.
