SOUTH KOREA: South Korean authorities draft in the military to help with rescue and clean-up operations as more rain batters the region

Record ID: 332929

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: South Korean authorities draft in the military to help with rescue and clean-up operations as more rain batters the region
  • Date: 29th July 2011
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JULY 28, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DAMAGED AREA MAN WALKING AROUND DAMAGED AREA SOLDIERS SWEEPING MUD DESTROYED BALCONY WINDOW DAMAGED APARTMENT WALL VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS SWEEPING MUD FROM APARTMENT EXCAVATOR MOVING BROKEN TREES RESCUE WORKERS SWEEPING MUD VARIOUS OF RECOVERY WORK EXCAVATORS MOVING BROKEN TREES WORKER MOVING BROKEN TREES EXCAVATORS AND TRUCKS ON ROAD
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVADBY5UXV8WOABCVLOUODBOMMU4
  • Story Text: South Korean authorities on Thursday (July 28) drafted in the military for rescue and clean-up operations, as more rain battered the region.
    Officials said scores of deadly landslides in and around the capital swamped homes, a monastery and military sites after the heaviest rainfall in a century.
    At least 77 people died or are missing after landslides and flashfloods swept the Seoul region, home to about 25 million people and the damage bill is expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
    Hundreds of soldiers wearing helmets and long khaki coats, shovelled mud from the site where the landslide slammed into an apartment block from nearby Mount Umyeon.
    A wall of mud three storeys high hit the building and killed at least 15 people.
    The government have also cautioned South Koreans about rogue landmines and explosives.
    The Defence Ministry said about 10 landmines buried near an air defence artillery unit at Mount Umyeon in southern Seoul had not been recovered after a mudslide in the area on Wednesday (July 27).
    The mines were placed during the 1950-53 Korean War.
    More than half a metre (19.5 inches) of rain has fallen in the Seoul region since late Tuesday (July 26), the weather bureau said, in the heaviest deluge for July since 1907.
    Dozens of landslides had been reported around Seoul and streams turned into raging torrents, flooding low-lying areas and swamping thousands of cars.
    Authorities in Seoul said more than 4,500 people had been forced from their homes and many houses were without power.
    The Financial Supervisory Service, the country's financial regulator, estimated the bill for car damage alone would be about $38 million U.S. dollars.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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