Residents Stay Awake as Heavy Rains Cause Retaining Wall to Collapse

[Anchor]

Heavy rain began pouring down in North Chungcheong Province from early this morning, with heavy rain warnings issued across the entire region at one point. The intense rainfall left farms submerged and caused retaining walls to collapse as the ground weakened. More than 300 cases of damage have been reported in North Chungcheong Province alone.

CJB reporter Kim Min-young has the report.

[Reporter]

Muddy water flows right up to the brim of the embankment, looking much like rolling waves.

With downpours exceeding 63mm per hour, a flood warning was issued for the Byeongcheon Stream area in Cheongju again this year.

Water parsley farms located right next to the stream could not escape flood damage this year either.

[Water parsley farmer: I had just accepted it as part of life, but I am exhausted and cannot do this anymore. I no longer have the ability or the confidence to overcome this.]

As a landslide warning was issued for Cheongju, residents in mountain villages such as Gadeok-myeon and Nangseong-myeon hurriedly evacuated.

Residents spent the night wide awake, fearing that the stream in front might overflow or that a landslide might bury them from behind.

[No Seung-ja / Gadeok-myeon, Cheongju: It rained so much that the small bridge was filled with water. The water was rising right up to the street. I was so worried that I couldn't even sleep.]

In some places, retaining walls eventually gave way.

Following 90mm of heavy rain throughout yesterday (July 8), a stone retaining wall collapsed at around 8:30 p.m.

There is a nursing home right next to the site, and all residents have been evacuated.

[Nursing home director: The retaining wall behind us collapsed, and stones fell all the way to the entrance of our nursing home. I have been here for five years; we had a lot of rain the year before last, but I think it rained even more this year than it did then.]

Damage also occurred in urban areas, with some low-lying areas in Mochung-dong, Cheongju, being submerged, and parked vehicles suffering water damage near Munam Ecological Park and the West Cheongju Interchange.

It is tentatively estimated that more than 300 cases of damage have occurred across the province due to the monsoon rains.

(Video Editing: Park Hee-sung, CJB / Footage courtesy of viewer Jung Ji-yu)

Reported by Kim Min-young

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