A man makes his way through a flooded street, caused by torrential rain, in Gwangju, South Korea on July 17. - Reuters
SEOUL: A man in his 50s was found dead on Thursday (July 17) morning inside a submerged vehicle in Seosan, South Korea’s South Chungcheong Province, hours after he called his wife to tell her that the car is being swept away in record-breaking torrential rain.
The victim and his car were discovered by the rescue authorities of the city at around 6.15am (5.15am, Singapore time). He was moved to the nearby Seosan Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Officials received a report about submerged cars in the Seoknam-dong district of Seosan at around 3.59am.
They rescued three people from one vehicle at around 5.14am and got to the victim’s car an hour later, which was too late to save him.
It was reported that the victim had called her wife and told her, “the car is being swept away”.
Police and rescue officials of the city are conducting further investigations into the accident.
As much as 114.9mm of rain per hour had poured on the South Chungcheong Provincial city, between the night of July 16 and the early hours of July 17. In Seosan, the hardest-hit area, as much as 344mm of rain has fallen, reported Yonhap news outlet, quoting weather officials.
It added that other areas in the province - including Yesan and Dangjin - saw surging floodwaters that prompted evacuations.
This, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration, was an rate of precipitation that happens “once in a century” for the month of July.
Heavy rains also battered parts of North Chungcheong province, reported Yonhap.
Disaster response agencies put both Chungcheong provinces and the southern part of Gyeonggi province on the second-highest alert, as the rain front appeared to move north.
Yonhap reported that a total of 302 cases of rain-related damage has been reported so far in the region, citing authorities in South Chungcheong province.
South Korea is expected to see more rain until July 19.
According to Yonhap, about 50mm to 150mm of rain is expected in the greater Seoul area and Chungcheong province until July 17. North Jeolla province is forecast to see about 30mm to 100mm, while Gwangju and South Jeolla province are expected to see 20mm to 80mm.
Heavy rainfall is also expected in the southern regions of the country starting July 17, said the agency, with between 100mm to 200mm of rain forecast in areas such as Ulsan and Busan. - The Korea Herald/ANN
