[Anchor]
Heavy rain of nearly 150mm fell across the Seoul metropolitan area overnight. While heavy rain warnings remain in effect for parts of Gangwon Province, traffic on major roads in Seoul, which had been restricted, has now resumed. We connect to our reporter at Jungnangcheon Stream.
Reporter Kwon Min-kyu, what is the situation there now?
[Reporter]
I am at Jungnangcheon Stream, overlooking the Dongbu Expressway in Seoul.
The rain that poured down overnight has stopped, and vehicle traffic has resumed.
However, as you can see behind me, the water level of the stream remains high.
As of 6:00 a.m. today (July 18), areas such as Yangchon-eup in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, recorded 148.5mm of rain, and Gangseo-gu in Seoul recorded 135.5mm, with the metropolitan area receiving nearly 150mm of rain overnight.
Due to this, flood warnings were issued for areas including Gangseo-gu and Eunpyeong-gu in Seoul.
Fearing flood damage, the Seoul Metropolitan Government fully restricted traffic in both directions on the Dongbu Expressway—from Surak Underpass to Seongsu Junction, which connects Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, to Seoul—starting at 4:47 a.m.
As the rainfall weakened, traffic on the Dongbu Expressway resumed at 9:45 a.m., about five hours later, and all road restrictions in the Seoul area have now been lifted.
[Anchor]
Please tell us about the damage across the country and the upcoming weather forecast.
[Reporter]
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported that as of 11:00 a.m. today, 872 cases of property damage, including flooded homes and roads, rockfalls, and fallen trees, have occurred nationwide.
While 162 people in 17 regions were temporarily evacuated due to concerns over landslides and flooding, no casualties from the heavy rain have been reported so far.
While heavy rain warnings for the metropolitan area have all been lifted, a heavy rain advisory remains in effect for Gangwon Province across the country.
Meanwhile, the Korea Forest Service raised the landslide crisis alert level for the metropolitan area to the third stage, "Alert," as of 6:00 a.m. today, and a landslide advisory was also issued for Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.
The Korea Meteorological Administration warned that strong and heavy rain of over 200mm could fall, mainly in the metropolitan area and Gangwon Province, through tomorrow, Sunday. They urged the public to take extra precautions against safety accidents, such as flooding in low-lying areas and landslides.
(Video reporting: Im Dong-guk, Kim Han-gyeol | Video editing: Lee So-young)
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