A landslide and dam overflowed in South Korea on Saturday, the third day of heavy rains, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
As of 6 a.m., 882 people had been evacuated across the country, according to the Interior and Security Ministry, but the number of evacuees is expected to rise as a dam in northern Chungcheong province flooded on Saturday morning. Local governments ordered the evacuation of more than 7,000 people at once, according to provincial authorities.
As of 9 am, more than 2,700 tonnes of water per second is flowing into the Gozan dam, the maximum it can release. Nationwide, there were two deaths, one missing and six injured as of 6 a.m., but there were additional reports of many people injured in landslides.
Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said all slow trains and some bullet trains are halting operations, while other bullet trains may be delayed due to low speeds due to safety threats posed by landslides, track flooding and falling rocks. Late on Friday, a forwarding slow train derailed when a landslide threw mud and sand over the railway tracks in North Chungcheong province, the transport ministry said. No passengers were on board but the train engineer was injured.
In a meeting with government agencies on Saturday, Prime Minister Han Dak-soo called for the military to actively participate in rescue operations, working with government officials to mobilize equipment and manpower.
(This story has not been edited by DavidDiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)