Rockslide Hits Vehicles After Lightning Strike: Heavy Overnight Rains Cause Chaos

[Anchor]

Heavy downpours, reaching up to 50mm per hour, battered the Seoul metropolitan area overnight, leading to a series of accidents and damage. Incidents included a boulder rolling down a mountain and crushing vehicles, as well as power outages caused by trees toppled by strong winds and rain.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae has the story.

[Reporter]

A large rock lies atop a vehicle, and the surrounding area is in shambles, resembling the aftermath of an explosion.

At around 6:00 a.m. today (July 15), a report was filed stating that a boulder had rolled down from a mountain behind an apartment complex in Hongje-dong, Seoul, following a lightning strike.

[Apartment Resident: There was a sudden, thunderous rumbling sound. I heard car alarms going off, so I wondered if there had been a traffic accident.]

This is the scene of the accident.

Traces of rocks that tumbled down from the mountain above are still visible.

Some rocks remain precariously perched on the retaining wall.

While two vehicles were damaged, fortunately, there were no casualties. The local government plans to conduct a safety inspection to assess the risk of further collapses.

In Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, two parked vehicles were also destroyed when the outer wall of a three-story multi-unit house collapsed due to strong wind and rain.

Concerned about further collapses, the local government guided approximately 40 residents to temporary shelters.

Across the metropolitan area, ground instability caused by the heavy rainfall led to a series of collapses and rockfalls, including the failure of a retaining wall at a residential complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Power outages also occurred in various locations as trees, unable to withstand the fierce wind and rain, fell onto utility poles and power lines.

Around 11:00 p.m. yesterday (July 14), a tree fell onto high-voltage lines in Bongcheon-dong, Seoul, causing a blackout for approximately 970 households. Around the same time, power was cut to about 150 households at an apartment complex in Sinjeong-dong, Seoul, and 950 households in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, though electricity was restored overnight.

[Yoon Kyung-mi/Sinjeong-dong, Seoul: My baby was thirsty, but the water purifier stopped working, and the air conditioner and everything else turned off. We had to use handheld fans.]

Although heavy rain warnings have been lifted, there is a clear need for more proactive preparation against nocturnal monsoon rains that tend to pour down during particularly vulnerable hours.

Reported by Bae Seong-jae | Video by Lee Sang-min | VJ: Kim Hyung-jin, Noh Jae-min | Photo courtesy of Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.