SOUTH KOREA LANDSLIDE

South Korea landslide

Heavy rain sent a landslide barrelling into a resort in a northern South Korean town. In Chuncheon, about 500 rescuers searched for two students who were missing after the landslide. Heavy rain sent a landslide barrelling into a resort in a northern South Korean town Wednesday(27^th,July,2011), leaving 12 people dead and two others missing, officials said.Eight of those killed in the early morning landslide were college students who had been doing volunteer work, said Byun In-soo of the town’s fire station. They were staying in a resort cabin in Chuncheon, about 68 miles (110 kilometres) northeast of Seoul, when the mud and debris engulfed them.South Korea has been pummelled with strong rain this week, and more than 10 inches (250 millimetres) have fallen on Chuncheon in the last two days.

About 15 inches (400 millimetres) of rain fell in Seoul in just 17 hours starting Tuesday afternoon. Weather officials said another 10 inches could fall through Friday in northern South Korea, including Seoul, parts of which were flooded from the rains. In Chuncheon, about 500 rescuers searched for two students who were missing after the landslide. Twenty-four people were injured and several buildings destroyed. Among the other dead were a married couple and a man who wasn’t yet identified, said Lee Ju-hee of the Chuncheon fire station. Fast-moving muddy water filled streets in Seoul on Wednesday, with people scrambling to the roofs of their partially submerged cars. Water filled some subway stations and spewed from sewers. About 800 houses flooded, according to a city disaster official who declined to be named because of office policy. There were no casualties or deaths reported. The official said 23 roads were closed in the city.

Local TV showed officials rescuing hikers stranded on mountainsides. Another landslide took place at a mountain in southern Seoul, swamping a road near a neighbourhood. No injuries were immediately reported.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency issued a traffic emergency, mobilizing more police to deal with the problems caused by the heavy rain.

                                                              Prof. John Kurakar