"Roads Cut Off," "Crops Rotting": Residents Devastated by Flood Damage

[We cannot get through because the road is cut off.]

"The levee collapsed again in this rain, so we are working on repairs," said a worker at Maamcheon in Banpo-myeon, Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, on the morning of July 11.

Restoration work involving heavy machinery was underway around the levee, which had collapsed by 5 to 10 meters due to the heavy downpour that occurred in the early hours of July 9.

Dozens of large retaining wall blocks, swept away by the strong current, were scattered throughout Maamcheon.

Workers engaged in the restoration were busy building an outer wall with large sandbags and filling the empty spaces with gravel and soil.

When asked when the restoration work would be completed, one of the workers replied, "I am not sure."

A local resident passing by sighed, saying, "The road is blocked because the levee collapsed. It collapsed and was rebuilt a few years ago, but it has collapsed again in this rain, cutting off the road."

Merchants near the entrance of Donghaksa Temple in Banpo-myeon, Gongju, were also clearing the traces left by the heavy rain.

Although the restaurant and shopping district, which had been flooded by rainwater, returned to a semblance of normalcy after two days, the restoration of the surrounding valley, which had been torn apart, remains a daunting task.

The narrow valley area adjacent to the shopping district revealed large boulders, and the rough currents left scars everywhere.

A man who operates a pension near the entrance of Gyeryongsa Temple said, "As the valley water eroded the surrounding soil, part of the pension parking lot floor subsided. I requested the city to restore it quickly because it is dangerous, but no significant work has been done yet."

He expressed his concern, saying, "The rainy season has just begun, and I am worried about even heavier rain. If the restoration work is not carried out quickly, there could be even greater damage."

In the vinyl greenhouse farms around Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, where many crops were flooded during this concentrated downpour, only sighs could be heard.

Buyeo County explained that 18 hectares of farmland were flooded due to the rain that fell on July 8 and 9, and most of the facility greenhouses were submerged.

As the tomato facility greenhouses were completely submerged, the tomatoes, which were nearing harvest, lost their commercial value.

The red-ripened tomatoes fell helplessly from their vines, and within a day or two, they began to rot as white mold formed on them.

Farmers explained that in weather exceeding 30°C (86°F), crops will rot completely if left inside a vinyl greenhouse for even a single day.

Watermelon leaves covered in reddish-brown mud turned yellow.

Next to the wilting watermelon leaves, watermelons the size of soccer balls were rolling around and rotting.

Shin (51), who grows cucumbers in six greenhouses in the Imcheon-myeon area of Buyeo, sighed and said, "Since the cucumber roots were all submerged in water, we have to assume they are all dead."

He added, "I am waiting for the water that hasn't drained from the greenhouse to recede so I can pick whatever I can still save. We could have harvested another 30 to 40 percent, but now we have to give up. I was already upset because cucumber prices were bad this year, and it is heartbreaking that even what was left has become unusable."

Buyeo County plans to prepare compensation measures once the investigation into the farmland flood damage is completed.

A county official said, "There is practically no way to restore crops grown in facility greenhouses. Once the water recedes and demolition plans are set, we plan to provide help by recruiting volunteers."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.