1 Dead After Landslide Hits Apartment in Geoje Amid Torrential Rains; National Fire Mobilization Order Issued

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Overnight, extreme torrential rains exceeding 100 millimeters per hour battered Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, triggering a landslide that struck an apartment complex, leaving one resident dead and two with minor injuries. Fire authorities have issued a national fire mobilization order for Geoje to handle the disaster.

Reporter Cho Min-ki has the details.

[Reporter]

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

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

A resident trapped on the first floor was rescued in cardiac arrest and transported to a hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.

Police and firefighters rescued two additional residents from the first floor.

Geoje has been hit by more than 800 millimeters of rain since the day before yesterday. In particular, extreme downpours exceeding 100 millimeters per hour overnight led to a series of flooding and isolation incidents.

Nine roads were restricted due to overflowing streams and flooding, and landslides occurred at 11 locations.

Successive power outages caused inconvenience for 1,500 households.

A total of 107 residents evacuated to community centers and other shelters, and 60 of them have yet to return home.

Fire authorities, who issued the national fire mobilization order this morning, have received over 1,600 heavy rain-related reports and rescued 126 people in Geoje alone.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters held a meeting presided over by Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung, deciding to urgently provide 3 billion won in special grant tax and 40 million won in disaster relief project funds to affected regions including South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces.

In Geoje, which is currently the only area nationwide under a heavy rain warning, strong rainfalls of around 30 millimeters per hour are expected to continue into the afternoon.

(Photo courtesy of Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.