South Korea hit with landslides, flooding, hundreds evacuated

South Korea was hit with landslides and a dam overtopping with water on Saturday as the third day of torrential rains forced hundreds of people to evacuate.

Some 882 people were evacuated nationwide as of 6 a.m., according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, but the number of evacuees is expected to rise as a dam in North Chungcheong province overtopped with water on Saturday morning. Local governments ordered the evacuation of more than 7,000 people at one time or another, according to province authorities.

As of 9 a.m., more than 2,700 tonnes of water per second was flowing into Goesan Dam, the maximum amount of water it can discharge. Nationwide, there were two deaths, one missing and six injured as of 6 a.m., but additional reports of multiple people hit by landslides have come in since.

Korea Railroad Corp (KORAIL) said it was halting the operation of all slow trains and some bullet trains, while other bullet trains may be delayed due to slower operation, as landslides, track flooding and falling rocks threatened safety. On late Friday, a forwarding slow train was derailed when a landslide threw earth and sand over railroad tracks in North Chungcheong province, according to the transport ministry. No passengers were on board, but the train engineer was injured.

In a meeting with government agencies on Saturday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called for the military to actively join in rescue activities by working with government officials to mobilise equipment and manpower.