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One dead, three missing after South Korea landslide

One dead, three missing after South Korea landslide

Arab News5 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.
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Deadly monsoon rains kill 245 in Pakistan as flood, landslide warnings escalate
Deadly monsoon rains kill 245 in Pakistan as flood, landslide warnings escalate

Arab News

time17 hours ago

  • Arab News

Deadly monsoon rains kill 245 in Pakistan as flood, landslide warnings escalate

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's disaster agency on Wednesday warned of continued torrential rains, flash floods and landslides in the country's northern and central regions, as the nationwide death toll from this monsoon season climbed to 245, with over 600 people injured. The alert follows weeks of heavy rains that have triggered house collapses, urban flooding and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), phenomena linked to rapid glacier melt, with children making up nearly half of all fatalities. 'Heavy rains may generate flash floods in local streams of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad and Rawalpindi,' the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement. 'Urban flooding is also likely in low-lying areas of major cities including Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Nowshera and Peshawar.' The PMD also warned that glacier lake outburst floods remained a growing threat in high-altitude areas, exacerbated by accelerated ice melt driven by global warming. It urged the public to avoid travel to mountainous regions, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, and Murree, due to the heightened risk of landslides. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), this monsoon season which began in late June, at least 135 deaths have occurred in Punjab, including 63 children, followed by 59 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 24 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, six in Islamabad, three in Gilgit-Baltistan, and two in Azad Kashmir. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to accelerate relief operations in flood-hit regions. Local media reported that search efforts were still underway for a father and daughter whose car was swept away in a flash flood in Islamabad's upscale Defense Housing Authority (DHA) neighborhood. Earlier this week, key travel routes such as the Karakoram Highway and Babusar Top were closed due to heavy landslides, blocking access to northern Pakistan. The monsoon typically delivers 70–80 percent of South Asia's annual rainfall between June and September. While crucial for agriculture, the seasonal rains also bring destruction in countries like Pakistan where infrastructure is weak, drainage systems are poor and climate resilience remains underfunded. Pakistan, home to more than 7,000 glaciers, ranks among the most climate-vulnerable countries despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It has already experienced increasingly erratic weather in recent years, including record-breaking heatwaves, droughts, and severe storms. In 2022, unprecedented monsoon rains combined with glacial melt submerged nearly a third of the country, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing over 8 million. The disaster inflicted $30 billion in damages and prompted global calls for climate reparations. In May this year, at least 32 more people were killed during sudden rainfall and hailstorm incidents.

Monsoon rains wreak havoc, killing 10 in northwestern Pakistan during last 24 hours
Monsoon rains wreak havoc, killing 10 in northwestern Pakistan during last 24 hours

Arab News

time2 days ago

  • Arab News

Monsoon rains wreak havoc, killing 10 in northwestern Pakistan during last 24 hours

PESHAWAR: At least 10 people were killed and two injured during the last 24 hours in rain-related incidents across Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) said on Tuesday as monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc in many parts of the country. As per the PDMA's preliminary report, the deceased include two men, two women and six children while the injured includes a man and one child. The report said that 10 houses were damaged in total, eight of which were partially damaged while two were completely destroyed due to rains and flash floods. The incidents occurred in various districts of the province such as Swat, Bajaur, Buner, Upper Kohistan, Upper Chitral and Shangla, as per the PDMA report. 'The PDMA has directed the concerned district administrations to immediately provide assistance to the affected families and ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured,' the disaster management authority said. The development takes place as the death toll from rain-related incidents in Pakistan since June 26 has surged to 221, as per the National Disaster Management Authority's (NDMA) latest situation reported released on Monday evening. Pakistan's most populous Punjab province has reported the highest number of deaths at 135, followed by 46 in KP, 22 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, and one each in the federal capital of Islamabad and Azad Kashmir. The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned this week that landslides and mudslides may block roads in vulnerable areas of Murree, Galliyat, Azad Kashmir and GB, forecasting heavy rains till July 25. Torrential rains, windstorms and lightning could also damage weak structures, electric poles, billboards, vehicles and solar panels, it added. 3 DEAD, 15 MISSING IN NORTHERN PAKISTAN The NDMA said three people had died after a cloudburst triggered flash floods on Babusar Road in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region on Monday afternoon. Various news reports said 15 tourists were missing after flash floods swept away several vehicles, damaging them in the process. The authority said an area of approximately seven to eight kilometers on Babusar Road was affected, causing 14–15 major blockages due to landslides, debris and flash floods. 'Three dead bodies received at Regional Headquarters Chila, one injured person under treatment,' the NDMA said on Monday. 'Tourists stranded at various points were evacuated.' The NDMA said Babusar Road was 'severely blocked,' adding that around 10–15 vehicles were stuck in nullahs and slide areas as authorities rescued stranded tourists in the area. The twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were also lashed with heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that Islamabad received the highest rainfall, 184 millimeters, over the past 24 hours. Heavy rains led to urban flooding in the capital's Saidpur Village, as footage shared widely on social media showed severely damaged cars being swept away by raging currents in nullahs. A video played by leading news channel Geo News showed a car with two people inside being swept away by floodwater. The news channel claimed the incident took place in Rawalpindi's Defense Housing Authority Phase 5 area. Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September. In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains combined with glacial melt submerged nearly a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing over 8 million. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.

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