South Korea's president proclaims disaster after 19 die in flooding
July 22 (UPI) -- At least 19 people are dead and about nine still missing after torrential rain, flooding and landslides ravaged parts of South Korea, forcing thousands to be evacuated.
South Korea's president declared a special disaster to provide government aid.
"All government assistance must be mobilized to help residents in the affected areas return to their daily lives as soon as possible," President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday in designating six of the country's nine provinces a special disaster zone.
Since Wednesday, massive rain has triggered a series of landslides, with flooding affecting regions in South Korea's south. By Monday, up to 31 inches of rain fell in the south and western provinces.
According to South Korea's home ministry, some 14,000 civilians were evacuated, with reports of lost or damaged farms and homes, as well as about 1.5 million livestock lost. Additionally, more than 1 million chickens were lost, as well as produce-growing fields in an area the size of about 40,000 soccer fields.
The disaster declaration targets the provinces of Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang.
The flooding has prompted multiple reports of often heroic rescues, with victims trapped in homes or swept away in cars by rushing floodwaters.
Roads in Dong-gu, Gwangju, were submerged by Thursday, with the hardest hit in the central south coast county of Sancheong, where 10 fatalities were reported after 12 inches of rain on Sunday forced officials to advise safety precautions to its 33,000 residents.
On Sunday, South Korean weather authorities downgraded its heavy rain alert.
However, more rain was in Monday's forecast for parts in South Korea's central and northern parts.
It came with warnings of a heat wave in the south, where chemicals were sprayed in villages to prevent disease outbreak in the flood's aftermath.
Meanwhile, officials from the General Insurance Association of Korea said Tuesday that data showed from Wednesday to Monday at least 3,131 flood-damaged vehicles had been reported to 12 non-life insurance companies in estimated losses to the tune of 29.6 billion won, or more than $21 billion.
"The scale of the damage is significant due to the many days of intense, prolonged rain," an insurance industry official told The Korea Times on Tuesday.
"Since claims are still being filed, the figures are likely to rise," they added.
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