[Anchor]
Yesterday, July 12, another death suspected to be caused by the heat was reported in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. In some neighborhoods, residents had to spend the sweltering night without even a fan due to power outages.
Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the story.
[Reporter]
The lights are out across an entire three-story multi-unit housing complex, and employees from the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) are conducting emergency repair work.
A power outage occurred at a multi-unit housing complex in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, at around 8:10 p.m. yesterday.
KEPCO explained that a transformer supplying power to the area appears to have been damaged, causing significant inconvenience to approximately 200 households.
[Seung Soon-hee/Resident affected by the power outage: We didn't have air conditioning, so we were running a fan, but when the power went out, we couldn't do anything. As a housewife, I am also very worried about the food in the refrigerator.]
Power was also cut off at an apartment complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, at around 6:50 p.m. yesterday.
The cause is suspected to be an aging transformer, and 360 households were affected.
Although power was restored around midnight, some residents evacuated to motels because they did not know when the electricity would be back on.
[Resident affected by the power outage: The apartment residents have all left for the senior center or nearby motels to escape the tropical night. It is very frustrating.]
Heat-related illnesses are also occurring in rapid succession.
Yesterday, two people in their 70s who were farming in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, were transported to a hospital with symptoms of heat exhaustion, and at around 4:40 p.m., an 80-year-old was found dead in a vinyl greenhouse in Ipjang-myeon, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, in a case suspected to be heat-related.
On July 11, there were 99 cases of heat-related illnesses reported nationwide, which is nearly a fivefold increase compared to the 21 cases reported the previous day.
The cause of this heat wave is the North Pacific High and the Tibetan High covering the lower and upper layers of the Korean Peninsula, respectively, trapping the heat.
The Korea Meteorological Administration emphasized that during periods of extreme heat, people should stop outdoor activities as much as possible and stay hydrated by drinking water regularly.
(Video Editing: Kim Jun-hee)
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