At least 20 dead after torrential South Korea rain

By Christy Cooney, July 15: At least 20 people have died and thousands forced to evacuate their homes due to flooding in South Korea.

A third day of torrential rain has caused landslides, power cuts, and damage to infrastructure across the country.

Early on Saturday, officials said that water had overtopped a dam in the central North Chungcheong province.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has asked the military to assist with rescue efforts.

Officials said another 10 people are currently missing and several are reported injured, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Thousands of people have been affected by evacuation orders issued by various local governments.

Some 6,400 residents were evacuated after the Goesan Dam began to overflow at around 06:30 local time on Saturday (22:30 BST on Friday), Yonhap said.

A number of low-lying villages near the dam, as well as many of the roads connecting them, were said to have been submerged, leaving some residents trapped in their homes.

Korail, the country’s national rail operator, has announced the suspension of all slow trains and some bullet trains and said other bullet train services would be disrupted.

Late on Friday, a train was derailed in North Chungcheong after a landslide threw earth and sand onto the tracks.

One engineer was injured in the incident, but the train was not carrying passengers at the time.

Reuters