A severe weather system delivering unprecedented downpours has prompted authorities to confirm multiple fatalities and widespread disruption across the southern half of South Korea. The event has impacted daily life, transportation, and essential services, as communities rally to cope with the intensity of the rainfall and the swift changes it brings to road and rail networks.
In North Jeolla Province the rainfall has shattered historic records. Early hours brought hourly totals of 131.7 millimeters in Gunsan, a city roughly 178 kilometers south of Seoul. This marked the strongest downpour ever recorded in the country for a single hour, underscoring the extreme nature of the event. The intensity of the rain translated into more than 10 percent of Gunsan’s annual average precipitation in that single hour, highlighting how dramatically the weather patterns have intensified. A government meteorology official described the situation as a level of severity that is typically observed only once every two centuries, illustrating the extraordinary rarity of this incident.
Nearby Hamna saw even higher hourly rates, with 125.5 millimeters observed in a single hour. Other urban and rural areas across the region posted substantial totals ranging from just over one hundred millimeters to more than two hundred millimeters from midnight into the early hours of Wednesday. The sheer scale of rainfall left many streets and neighborhoods underwater, testing the resilience of drainage systems and the capacity of emergency services to respond to rapidly evolving conditions.
In South Chungcheong Province, the torrents pushed through living spaces and buildings, triggering dangerous conditions for residents. In Nonsan, a flood forced water into an apartment building, resulting in the death of a man who was trapped in an elevator as the floodwaters rose around him. In Seocheon, a house collapsed under the weight of structural pressures from the sustained rain, and a septuagenarian tenant was found deceased inside what remained of the property. In Okcheon County, another septuagenarian man died after his car sank in a swollen stream while he was returning from checking a barn in the early hours, illustrating how the rain translated into life-threatening situations even during routine tasks. A fourth fatality, a farmer in Daegu, occurred when he drowned after being swept into a drainage system while tending to his fields, emphasizing the sudden and dangerous guidance the floodwaters can carve through rural landscapes as well as urban centers.
Efforts to locate missing people continued as rescue teams worked around the clock. Among the ongoing challenges is the search for a septuagenarian who disappeared after his housing container was damaged by the rains in North Chungcheong Province. In Wanju County, North Jeolla Province, crews evacuated 18 residents who were stranded by a river surge, with others awaiting rescue on rooftops as waterways shifted with the flood waters. The human toll and the disruption to households, farms, and small businesses underscore the broad reach of such extreme rainfall and the need for sustained safety measures as communities begin to assess damage and plan for recovery.
The rainfall has also caused substantial transport disruptions across the southern region. Train services were suspended on major corridors including the Janghang Line in South Chungcheong Province and the Gyeongbuk Line in North Gyeongsang Province, with suspensions extending at least until 6:00 p.m. local time. Regular trains running between Seoul and Daegu halted until noon, reflecting the scale of infrastructure impact and the priority given to safeguarding passengers and crews. In the aviation sector, Gimhae International Airport in Busan canceled 21 flights and reported delays to a further 16, illustrating how the storms disrupted connectivity for travelers and cargo alike. The combined effect of flooded roadways, risk of landslides, and overwhelmed drainage networks forced adjustments to travel plans, supply chains, and daily routines for many communities across the region. The anticipation of lingering weather hazards prompted local authorities to issue warnings and mobilize resources to support affected residents, with a focus on emergency shelter, medical support, and the restoration of critical services as conditions gradually improve.