One dead, three missing in South Korea after torrential rain triggered landslides

In South Korea’s Sancheong county, a devastating landslide caused by continuous downpour has killed one and left three more missing.

Emergency officials confirmed the recovery of one body while search efforts continue for the missing individuals, including a couple in their seventies and a person in their twenties.

The landslide buried two houses in a rural village, prompting authorities to issue urgent evacuation orders for all 34,000 residents.

“At least three people have been reported missing, and we have recovered one body,“ a Sancheong county fire official told AFP.

The official said that one person in their twenties and a couple in their seventies were reported missing.

Sancheong County told all residents Saturday to “evacuate immediately to a safe area”.

According to official weather statistics, South Korea’s southern regions experienced some of the worst hourly downpours on record this week, despite the country’s usual July monsoon rains.

 

At least four rain-related deaths have been reported nationwide, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, and more than 7,000 people have been displaced.

Although summer floods are common in the nation, experts caution that climate change is making extreme weather more often and severe.

 

In 2022, the nation saw record-breaking flooding and rains, which resulted in the deaths of at least 11 individuals.