South Korea was recently hit by floods and landslides that resulted in 14 fatalities.
The country is experiencing its longest monsoon period since 2013. According to updates on August 5, 2020, heavy precipitation persists for 42 consecutive days. It has forced about 1,500 people to evacuate their residences and caused 14 casualties. Except for those affected by floods, people living in mountainous areas were also advised to evacuate their houses as the risk of landslides is very high.
Among the 14 victims, there were 3 citizens of New Zealand whose vacation facility, located in Gapyeong country, northeast of Seoul, was struck and destroyed by a rainfall-induced landslide.
The circumstances under which the people are evacuated are exceptionally difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Citizens were accommodated in local gyms and other facilities but, nonetheless, authorities ensured that the living quarters respect the social distancing rules. Moreover, the victims of the downpour were advised to wash their hands and asked to wear a mask.
Special managers were nominated by local authorities to check people for any coronavirus symptoms and take their temperature.
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), South Korea has reported 14,456 COVID-19 victims in total and 302 casualties.
Heavy rainfalls also resulted in floods that affected South Korea's infrastructure. Major highways and bridges were flooded and certain facilities including houses, water reservoirs and railways were damaged. According to updates, 2,085 private and 1,921 public facilities have been affected by the incident.
South Korea is attempting to ensure the safety of human lives and fix the affected infrastructure as soon as possible. "I call for preventive checks and proactive precautionary measures to the level that could be deemed excessive," Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, mentioned during an emergency meeting. Officials stated that many roadways have been repaired and traffic has been restored.
According to the weather forecasts, the typhoon will head north and its intensity will be readily reduced.
Many countries in Asia including China, India and Thailand have been recently struck by heavy rainfalls and address similar issues. In particular, China was devastated by rainfalls and floods that are described to be the worst in 30 years. More than 3,5 million people have been evacuated from their residences while 158 have been reported dead or missing.
Sources: Reuters, RNZ, NYtimes, Straitstimes
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