South Korea hopes to use break in weather to contain deadly wildfires
At least 28 people have died and more than 45,000 hectares of largely forest land in the country's southeast have been charred or are burning, as strong winds have driven blazes from central Uiseong county to coastal regions over the past week.
"Conditions are very good, and we have a chance, so we're deploying all available resources to try to contain the main fires today," Korea Forest Service Minister Lim Sang-seop told a media briefing.
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Nikkei Asia
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- Nikkei Asia
Torrential rain pounds South Korea for 3rd day, thousands take shelter
Firefighters take part in a rescue operation in a flooded area in Daegu, South Korea, on July 17. © Reuters SEOUL (Reuters) -- More than 5,000 people in South Korea have been forced into shelters as heavy rain pounded parts of the country for a third day, with the deluge killing at least four people and destroying property and infrastructure, the safety ministry said on Friday. Torrential rain warnings remain in effect for most of the country's western and southern regions and the weather service has advised extreme caution against landslides and flooding through Saturday. Some parts in the south including the city of Gwangju were hit by record precipitation of more than 400 millimeters (16 inches) in the past 24 hours as of early on Friday, the safety ministry said. Four people have died and one remained missing, it said. Two were trapped in cars on flooded roads and another died in a basement under flood water in the central South Chungcheong province, it said. A driver was also killed after a 10-metre-high (33 ft) roadside wall collapsed on top of a moving vehicle on Wednesday in Osan, some 44 kilometers (27 miles) south of Seoul, fire agency officials said. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who has been vocal about stepping up the government's role in disaster prevention and response, said while natural disasters were hard to prevent, more can be done to anticipate damage and warn the public. "I see there were cases where casualties occurred because of a poor response when the situation was reasonably predictable," he said at an emergency meeting on the weather on Friday, calling for all available resources to be deployed.
Japan Times
31-03-2025
- Japan Times
South Korea hopes to use break in weather to contain deadly wildfires
Light rain offered some relief to South Korean authorities tackling the country's worst wildfires on record, with exhausted firefighters making another push on Friday to contain blazes stretching 70 kilometers. At least 28 people have died and more than 45,000 hectares of largely forest land in the country's southeast have been charred or are burning, as strong winds have driven blazes from central Uiseong county to coastal regions over the past week. "Conditions are very good, and we have a chance, so we're deploying all available resources to try to contain the main fires today," Korea Forest Service Minister Lim Sang-seop told a media briefing.
Japan Times
25-03-2025
- Japan Times
South Korea struggles to contain deadly wildfires
Deadly wildfires in South Korea worsened overnight, officials said Tuesday, as dry, windy weather hampers efforts to contain one of the country's worst-ever fire outbreaks. More than a dozen different blazes broke out over the weekend, with the safety minister reporting thousands of hectares burned and four people killed. "The wildfires have, so far, affected approximately 14,694 hectares, with damage continuing to grow," acting Interior and Safety Minister Ko Ki-dong said. The extent of damage would make the fires collectively the third-largest in South Korea's history. The largest was an April 2000 blaze that scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast. More than 3,000 people have been evacuated to shelters, Ko said. At least 11 people have been seriously injured. "Strong winds, dry weather, and haze are hampering firefighting efforts," Ko told a disaster and safety meeting. The government is "mobilizing all available resources," he said, and today, "110 helicopters and more than 6,700 personnel will be deployed." In Uiseong, the sky was full of smoke and haze, AFP reporters said. Workers at a local temple were attempting to move historical artefacts and cover up Buddhist statues to protect them from possible damage. The Korea Forest Service said the containment rate for the fire in Uiseong decreased from 60% to 55% by Tuesday morning. More than 6,700 firefighters have been deployed to battle the wildfires, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, with nearly two-fifths of the personnel dispatched to Uiseong. The government declared a state of emergency in four regions, citing "the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country." Some types of extreme weather have a well-established link with climate change, such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall. Other phenomena, such as forest fires, droughts, snowstorms and tropical storms can result from a combination of complex factors.
