Rockslide Hits Vehicles After Lightning Strike; Nighttime Downpours Leave Residents Helpless

[Anchor]

Heavy rainfall, reaching up to 50mm per hour, pounded the Seoul metropolitan area overnight, leading to a series of damages and accidents. Incidents included a rockslide from a mountain crushing vehicles and power outages caused by trees toppled by strong winds and rain.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae has the story.

[Reporter]

A large rock lies on top of a vehicle, and the surrounding area is in shambles, looking as if it had been hit by a bomb.

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

[Apartment Resident: There was a sudden, thunderous rumbling sound. Then 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 damaged when the exterior wall of a three-story multi-unit house collapsed due to strong wind and rain.

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

Across the metropolitan area, collapses and rockfalls continued as the heavy rain weakened the ground, including a retaining wall failure at a housing complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

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

Around 11:00 p.m. last night, a tree fell onto high-voltage lines in Bongcheon-dong, Seoul, causing a power outage for approximately 970 households. Around the same time, electricity was cut off for about 150 households in an apartment complex in Sinjeong-dong, Seoul, and 950 households in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, though power 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 appears to be a need for more proactive preparation against nighttime monsoon rains that strike during particularly vulnerable hours.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min | VJ: Kim Hyung-jin, Noh Jae-min | Footage courtesy of Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.