Flash flooding and mudslides kill 32 as storm lashes Korea

Torrential rain battered the South Korean capital, Seoul, yesterday, causing flash floods and landslides in the region that claimed at least 32 lives.

In the worst single incident, a landslide tore through a mountain resort at Chuncheon, east of Seoul, wrecking three small hotels and killing at least 13.

A resident reported hearing what sounded like a train.

"Then I heard someone shouting 'help me'. So I went out to see, and I saw a landslide had swept all over the area," she said.

Another landslide on the outskirts of Seoul buried dozens of houses and killed at least ten residents.

A tributary of the Han River running through Gonjiam, about 30 miles south-east of Seoul, overflowed and killed five residents, Yonhap news agency reported. Storms have battered the central region of the country since late Tuesday, causing rivers to burst their banks, disrupting travel and triggering power cuts. More than 60,000 homes were still without electricity last night.

About 16in of rain fell on Seoul in just 24 hours, 15 times more than the average two-day rainfall at this time of year, according to the state-run Korea meteorological administration. It said the heavy rain would last until tomorrow, with another 10in is expected.

Fast-moving muddy water filled the streets of the capital, forcing some commuters to scramble onto the roofs of their partially submerged cars to safety.

Water filled some subway stations and caused sewers to erupt, spilling their contents into the city's streets. TV images showed people in one flooded subway station using shovels, brooms and a wooden board in an effort to keep more rain from coming in. Yonhap reported internet and wireless connections failed in southern Seoul due to power failures - South Korea has the most advanced internet infrastructure in the world.

Footage showed officials rescuing hikers stranded on mountainsides. People waded down streets covered knee-deep with water, many barefoot, their trousers rolled up. In Seoul city centre, cars were restricted from entering the lower part of a submerged two-level bridge.

The heavy rain has so far left about 620 people homeless and flooded 720 houses and about 100 vehicles throughout South Korea, the emergency management agency said.

Seoul, a bustling capital of 10 million, shut down sections of two motorways stretching along each side of the main Han River because of high water, said disaster official Kim Ji-hwan.

A dam located just east of Seoul was discharging 16,400 tonnes of water per second, said Cha Jun-ho from the Han River Flood Control Office. The dam already discharged about 1,000 tonnes per second days before the recent downpours.

People in Seoul, where smartphones are ubiquitous, posted dozens of photos on Twitter and Facebook showing inundated streets and mud-covered cars. Many complained Seoul had neglected to prepare for the deluge.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippines was also hard hit by heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Nock-ten. Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of about half a million people yesterday, nearly half of the population of eastern Albay province.