26-03-2025
South Korea: at least 18 dead in 'worst' fires in nation's history
At least 18 people have been killed and 19 injured as South Korea's wildfires continue to ravage the country's southeast, according to the latest numbers from the Ministry of the Interior and "unprecedented" crisis remains critical, according to acting president Han Duck-soo, who said the fires are "rewriting the record books for the worst wildfires in our nation's history".More than 23,000 people have been evacuated and hundreds of structures damaged, with strong winds fuelling the heritage cultural sites have also been affected, including a 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple that was destroyed, while other national treasures are being relocated.
Thousands of firefighters and about 5,000 military personnel have been deployed to contain multiple blazes, including helicopters from the US military stationed in Tuesday, the national fire agency said it had raised the crisis to the highest fire response level, the first time this year such an alert has been are relatively uncommon in South Korea, and related fatalities are rare. The current fires, which have killed 18 people within the past few days, are already the deadliest in the country's 17,000 hectares of forest have also been destroyed, making the fires the third largest in South Korea's history in terms of Korea Heritage Service, an agency charged with preserving and promoting Korean cultural heritage, upgraded its disaster warning to the highest "serious" level on Tuesday due to very high risk of damage to heritage blazes raging in the city of Uiseong burned down the Gounsa Temple, built in 618 AD, which was one of the largest temples in the province.A Buddhist architectural structure deemed a national treasure from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) was also destroyed, forestry authorities president Han said all available personnel and equipment have been deployed, but strong winds continue to hamper the support efforts."We were desperately hoping for rain today or tomorrow to help extinguish the flames," Han added. "This level of wildfire damage is unlike anything we've experienced before."There was no rain forecast for the region on Wednesday and only a small amount - five to 10mm - expected on Thursday, according to the Korea Meteorological said the government will thoroughly review all shortcomings in the wildfire response once the crisis is controlled and seek to improve prevention strategies for the future."Once a wildfire starts, extinguishing it requires tremendous resources and puts precious lives in danger," he Korea has been experiencing drier than normal conditions with less rainfall than average. There have already been 244 wildfires this year - 2.4 times more than the same period last government also promised to strengthen enforcement against illegal burning -one of the main causes of wildfires - and crack down on individual wildfires first broke out last Friday in Sancheong County, in the country's southeast, but have now spread to neighbouring cities of Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok.
