logo
One dead, three missing after South Korea landslide

One dead, three missing after South Korea landslide

Arab News6 days ago
SEOUL: A landslide triggered by torrential rain killed at least one person in South Korea, the national fire agency said Saturday.Three people were also missing after the landslide buried two houses in a village in southern Sancheong county, officials said, as heavy rain continued to pound the country.'At least three people have been reported missing and we have recovered one body,' an official at Sancheong county fire station said.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.'The county has a population of some 34,000 people.South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July, but the country's southern regions saw some of the heaviest hourly downpours on record this week, official weather data showed.The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Saturday at least four people have been killed in rain-related accidents and more than 7,000 forced to evacuate their homes.South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period, but is typically well-prepared and the death toll usually relatively low.Scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and frequent.The country endured record-breaking rains and flooding in 2022 which killed at least 11 people.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Greek heatwave drags out as temperatures near 46C
Greek heatwave drags out as temperatures near 46C

Arab News

time3 hours ago

  • Arab News

Greek heatwave drags out as temperatures near 46C

ATHENS: A week-long heatwave in Greece that began on Monday is now expected to last more than a week, the country's weather service said as temperatures on Friday neared 46C. The National Observatory in Athens said the warmest temperature recorded was 45.8C in the Peloponnese region of Messinia. In Athens, the highest temperature in parts of the capital was 42C, also recorded in the main port of Piraeus. Officials once again modified the opening hours of the Acropolis, the country's top archaeological site, for the safety of visitors and staff. The monument was shut from midday to 5:00 p.m. — the hottest part of the day — in line with usual safety rules. The Greek weather agency EMY modified a warning note to reflect that temperatures would begin falling after Monday July 28, instead of on the weekend as it had previously reported. Northern winds are expected to pick up later Friday, raising the risk of fires, EMY said. A wildfire earlier this week destroyed more than 2,800 acres (1,130 hectares) of forest and grassland near the mountain village of Feneos in the Peloponnese. It was apparently started by two workmen using welding equipment near a forest. Over half of the area affected was a pine forest that cannot regenerate, the National Observatory said. On Friday, a fire burning near the city of Kilkis in northern Greece forced the evacuation of a university, homes and businesses, the fire service said. A high of 44C was expected in Greece on Saturday, with a maximum of 42C forecast in Athens, the agency said. In neighboring Albania, there were 10 active fires including one in Delvina, near the border with Greece. Another fire in Kakavia, near the border crossing with Greece, was brought under control on Thursday.

Retired colonel's body swept away in flood recovered as Pakistan monsoon toll hits 260
Retired colonel's body swept away in flood recovered as Pakistan monsoon toll hits 260

Arab News

timea day ago

  • Arab News

Retired colonel's body swept away in flood recovered as Pakistan monsoon toll hits 260

ISLAMABAD: The body of a retired army officer swept away in a flash flood in Rawalpindi earlier this week was recovered on Thursday, as Pakistan continued to battle a deadly monsoon season that has killed at least 260 people and injured 617 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The incident, which occurred during a cloudburst in the upscale Defense Housing Authority (DHA), has drawn widespread public attention. The flood swept away Col. (retd) Qazi Ishaq, 65, and his 35-year-old daughter, Muneeba, as they got caught in a rain-swollen seasonal stream on Tuesday. Video footage showing their car being carried away by the surging waters quickly went viral on social media, highlighting the vulnerability of even affluent areas to urban flooding. 'Retired Col. Qazi Ishaq's body was recovered from the bank of the Soan River, between DHA and Bahria Town,' Rawalpindi Assistant Commissioner Sadar Hakim Khan told Independent Urdu. 'However, his daughter and the vehicle are still being searched for.' Tuesday's incident occurred after intense rainfall triggered flooding in parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. While flash floods are a recurring monsoon phenomenon in Pakistan — especially in vulnerable areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and peri-urban parts of Islamabad — fatalities in upper-income neighborhoods are rare. Pakistan's monsoon season began in late June, with torrential rains and glacial melt causing landslides and river flooding. The NDMA has warned of continued risk in mountainous regions, where several tourists remain stranded in parts of Gilgit-Baltistan due to blocked roads and disrupted communications. The Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Thursday that 'moderate monsoon activity is likely to continue,' with rainfall gradually subsiding over the next three days. The 2025 season follows years of increasingly erratic weather patterns across Pakistan, which ranks among the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. Three years ago, the country was battered by unprecedented monsoon rains, killing about 1,700 people and destroying farmlands and public infrastructure, with estimated damages totaling $35 billion.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store