Torrential rainfall has been wreaking havoc in South Korea’s capital and is turning the streets into rivers.
Gushing floodwater is thought to have forced open the cover of a manhole in Seoul’s Seocho-gu district last night.
Two people were then swept inside, and despite rescuers deploying an underwater robot, they are still yet to be found, MBC TV reports.
Fire chiefs say the manhole leads to the Han River, and that floodwater is flowing so relentlessly that rescuers had no chance to get inside.
At least 10 people have been killed and seven others are missing as heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms, has pounded Seoul.
It’s the most rainfall ever recorded since South Korea began collecting data, and has seen vehicles submerged and public transport systems overwhelmed.
Commuters slowly returned to work on Tuesday morning after emergency crews worked overnight to clean up much of the mess.
But there were concerns about further damage as torrential rain was forecast to continue for days.
While most of Seoul metropolitan area’s subway services were back to normal operations, dozens of roads and riverside parking lots remained closed due to safety concerns.
President Yoon Suk Yeol called for public employers and private companies to adjust their commuting hours.
He also urged aggressive action in restoring damaged facilities and evacuating people in danger areas to prevent further deaths.
Moon Hong-sik, spokesperson for Seoul’s Defence Ministry, said the military was prepared to deploy troops to help with recovery efforts if requested by cities or regional governments.
The rain, caused by a collision of dry cold air coming from the north and hot humid air from the south, began on Monday morning and intensified through the evening.
Nearly 800 buildings in Seoul and nearby cities were damaged while at least 790 people were forced to evacuate from their homes, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.
People were seen wading through thigh-high waters on Monday night in streets near the Gangnam subway station, one of Seoul’s most bustling business and leisure districts, where passenger cars, taxis and buses were stuck in mud-brown waters.
Commuters evacuated as water cascaded down the stairs of the Isu subway station like a waterfall.
In the nearby city of Seongnam, a rain-weakened hillside collapsed on to a university football field.
Rescue workers failed to reach three people who called for help before drowning in a basement home in the Gwanak district of southern Seoul on Monday night.
Another woman drowned at her home in the nearby Dongjak district, where a public worker died while clearing up fallen trees, likely from electrocution.
Three people were found dead in the debris of landslides and a collapsed bus station in the nearby cities of Gwangju and Hwaseong.
Rainstorms also pounded North Korea, where authorities issued heavy rain warnings for the southern and western parts of the country.
The North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper described the rain as potentially ‘disastrous’ and called for measures to protect farmland and prevent flooding on the Taedong river, which flows through the capital, Pyongyang.
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