Flood Warning Issued for Imjin River Area; Bridges and Roads Closed

[Anchor]

Heavy rain exceeding 40mm per hour in the northern Gyeonggi Province region is causing the water level of the Imjin River to rise rapidly. A flood warning has been issued for the area around Imjin Bridge, and traffic has been restricted on several bridges and roads near the Imjin River.

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon reports.

[Reporter]

This is Gunnam Dam in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, which manages flood control for the Imjin River.

Muddy water is gushing through the floodgates with a strong current.

As of 11:00 p.m. yesterday (July 21), the water level at Gunnam Dam had risen to 34 meters.

This is just 6 meters away from the safety limit of 40 meters.

The Korea Water Resources Corporation has opened 10 of the 13 floodgates at Gunnam Dam, more than usual, to regulate the water level.

With heavy rain also falling in North Korean territory, the government believes that North Korea has discharged water from the Hwanggang Dam on the upper reaches of the Imjin River without prior notice.

The flood advisory issued for the area around Imjin Bridge yesterday morning was upgraded to a flood warning in the afternoon.

The water level at Imjin Bridge reached 11.09 meters at 7:00 p.m. yesterday, surpassing the 10.8-meter threshold for a flood warning, and was recorded at 10.55 meters as of 11:00 p.m.

The water level at Pilseung Bridge, the northernmost point of the Imjin River, also rose to 8.94 meters as of 11:00 p.m. last night.

Both figures exceed the 7.5-meter threshold for the crisis response attention stage in border areas.

As flood alerts were also issued for the area around Biryong Bridge in Paju, traffic on surrounding bridges and roads has been closed one after another due to the rising water levels of the Imjin River.

Authorities have urged residents and visitors in the Imjin River basin to avoid approaching rivers and riverbanks and to move to safe areas immediately if evacuation orders are issued.

Reported by Lee Se-hyeon | Video by Choi Jin-hwa
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.