[Anchor]
Yesterday (October 18), sudden and disruptive autumn rain fell across the country. Streets were flooded in various places, and strong winds caused large signboards to fall.
Reporter Son Hyeong-an has the details.
[Reporter]
Water rises on the road, and fallen leaves float about haphazardly.
Parked cars are submerged up to their wheels.
[Choi Eun-seo / Eyewitness: I looked out the window, and it was raining so hard I couldn't see right in front of me. Fallen leaves were floating around, parked cars were flooded, and as buses drove by, the wakes caused the flooded vehicles to sway back and forth.]
Heavy downpours caused water to overflow even onto the adjacent sidewalks on a road in Pyeongnae-dong, Gyeonggi Province.
As roads flooded because sewers were blocked by fallen leaves and trash in various areas, citizens pulled out the debris with their bare hands.
Heavy rain advisories issued around 1 P.M. were lifted in most regions an hour or two later, but flood damage appears to have worsened as road sewers became clogged with autumn leaves and other debris.
Seoul was also hit by localized torrential downpours during the afternoon, prompting the closure of access to 29 streams, including the Cheonggyecheon walkway.
With rain damage pouring in nationwide—such as roads turning into muddy water and manhole covers being dislodged by the heavy rain—there were more than 100 calls to 119.
Damage from strong winds also continued.
Gales fierce enough to make it difficult to stand upright knocked downtown signboards and a church steeple onto the roads.
[Eyewitness: It seemed to have fallen with a loud bang, like a bang. It felt like a war broke out, sounding like an exploding bomb.]
Aviation routes were also disrupted. At Incheon International Airport, 40 flights were canceled—including 36 that were canceled in advance according to weather forecasts—and 9 flights were diverted.
At Gimpo Airport, disruptions continued as well, with around 140 arriving and departing flights delayed and 8 flights canceled.
(Video by Park Jin-ho and Kim Nam-seong | Video Editing by Jeon Min | Source: Instagram '1965inn')
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.