Landslide Hits Geoje Apartment Amid Torrential Rains Exceeding 100㎜ per Hour, Leaving 1 Dead

[Anchor]

Overnight, torrential downpours exceeding 100 millimeters per hour struck Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, leading to a series of accidents. Early this morning, a landslide struck an apartment building, leaving one resident dead and two others rescued.

Our first report comes from reporter Cho Min-ki.

[Reporter]

An apartment complex in Okpo-dong, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, early this morning (August 17).

Due to a landslide, safety fences were bent and collapsed, while poured-in soil and trees engulfed the first floor of the apartment.

In the accident, a resident trapped on the first floor was rescued in a state of cardiac arrest and transported to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Police and firefighting authorities additionally rescued two other residents from the first floor.

In Geoje, more than 800 mm of rain has fallen since the day before yesterday, with extreme downpours exceeding 100 mm per hour hitting overnight, causing a continuous wave of flooding and isolation damage.

The Jangpyeong-dong area was submerged in muddy water, transforming into something resembling a river, and muddy water poured onto roads in Okpo-dong, leaving parked vehicles precariously half-submerged.

At around 2:10 a.m. today, emergency text messages were dispatched across Geoje warning of the risks of landslides and river overflow.

In particular, torrential rains caused Geoje's Seojeongcheon and Suwolcheon streams to overflow, flooding roads, which triggered emergency measures including evacuation orders and outdoor activity bans for residents.

Flooding damage occurred in various places such as villages in Ilun-myeon, and power outages also took place in homes in some areas.

The Korea Forest Service also issued landslide warnings for areas in Geoje.

The city of Geoje urged caution, stating, "In some damaged areas, road flooding and obstacles are making it difficult even for emergency vehicles such as fire engines to enter."

(Video Editing: Kim Yun-seong, Footage provided by: Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.