Heavy rain causes floods in Seoul region

At least eight people were killed and six others were missing in South Korea as heavy rainfall drenched the greater Seoul region, turning the affluent streets of Gangnam into a river of submerged vehicles and overwhelming public transport systems. Commuters were slowly returning to work Tuesday morning after emergency crews worked overnight to clean up much of the mess. But there were concerns about further damage as torrential rain was forecast for the second day in a row. While most of the Seoul metropolitan area’s subway services were back to normal operations, around 80 roads and dozens of riverside parking lots remained closed due to safety concerns. The rain began Monday morning and intensified through the evening hours. It flooded streets and subway stations and damaged nearly 800 buildings in Seoul and nearby cities. Nearly 800 buildings were damaged while more than 400 people were forced to evacuate from their homes, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said. Rescue workers failed to reach three people who called for help before drowning at a basement home in the Gwanak district of southern Seoul Monday night. Another woman drowned at her home in the nearby Dongjak district, where a public worker died while clearing up fallen tries, likely because he stepped into waters electrified by damaged power lines, according to the ministry. Three people were found dead in the debris of a collapsed bus station and a landslide in the nearby cities of Gwangju and Hwaseong. The country’s weather agency maintained a heavy rain warning for the Seoul metropolitan area and nearby regions on Tuesday. The precipitation may reach 5 to 10 centimeters an hour (2 to 4 inches) in some areas. It said around 10 to 35 centimeters (4 to 14 inches) of more rain was expected across the capital region through Thursday.