A landslide triggered by heavy rains has claimed at least one life in South Korea, according to the national fire agency. The disaster also left three people missing after it buried two houses in a village in Sancheong county, as torrential rain continued to batter the country.
An official from Sancheong fire station confirmed that one body has been recovered, and three individuals are still unaccounted for. Among the missing are a person in their twenties and a couple in their seventies.
In response, Sancheong County has ordered all residents to evacuate immediately to safer areas. The region has a population of approximately 34,000 people.
South Korea usually experiences monsoon rains in July, but this week the southern parts of the country saw some of the heaviest hourly downpours on record, according to official weather data.
The Ministry of Interior and Safety reported that at least four people have died in rain-related incidents, and more than 7,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes. While flooding is common during the summer monsoon season, South Korea is generally well-prepared, and fatalities tend to be relatively low.
Experts attribute the increasing severity of weather events worldwide to climate change. The country faced record-breaking rains and flooding in 2022, which resulted in at least 11 deaths.
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