"Loud Crash Shook the Ground at Dawn": Geoje Residents Tremble in Fear

"There was a loud crash at dawn that shook the ground violently. I rushed down to the first floor and heard someone screaming, 'Please save me.'"

This was what a resident in his 50s surnamed Song had to say with an anxious look, following a landslide triggered by torrential rain that caused casualties at an apartment building in Okpo-dong, Geoje, on the morning of the 17th.

"I woke up around 4 a.m. because the rain felt ominous," Song said. "I have lived here for 32 years, and I have never seen anything like this."

Evacuating through the apartment exit immediately after the landslide, he heard screams upon reaching the first floor and joined other residents in rescuing a family of three living on the first floor.

"Seeing the family trapped under the collapsed debris on the first floor at the time, we set out to rescue them," Song said with regret. "We rescued the neighbors living in our hallway, but I heard that casualties occurred right next door."

Another resident, 52-year-old Heo, also breathed a sigh of relief as he recalled the situation at the time.

Like Song, he heard a loud crash during the landslide, rushed out of his house, and evacuated with his family in a car.

"I was so terrified that I spent the whole night wide awake," he said. "I'm afraid I won't be able to go back home in case an accident like this happens again."

The area around the apartment building where the landslide caused casualties was in absolute chaos.

Lower floors, including the first floor of the apartment building, had collapsed, spilling household items from each home out toward the entrance while tree branches were scattered haphazardly.

Debris from shattered windows was strewn everywhere around the complex.

With rain continuing to fall throughout the morning, the area around the apartment was covered in mud, and recovery work appeared sluggish.

Some residents who had rushed out to evacuate without even grabbing their regular medications were seen returning.

However, residents had to foot-stamp in frustration as they were unable to even enter the apartment due to restricted access.

Residents in nearby buildings of the apartment complex where casualties occurred also could not hide their sudden shock.

This was because mud and trees poured down in mass toward the vicinity of the apartment due to the landslide, blocking entrances and disrupting traffic.

Park, a resident in his 30s, expressed concern, saying, "The mud should be cleared away, but since the volume is huge and it keeps raining, heavy equipment cannot enter smoothly, so it seems recovery will take a long time."

Many residents were worried about additional damage upon hearing the news that casualties occurred in the very next building.

Kim, 56, who inspected the scene, said, "There is a retaining wall right next to my apartment building just like the place where the accident happened. Since the rain keeps falling, I'm afraid a landslide might hit our apartment too."

At 4:23 a.m. on this day, a burial accident caused by a torrential rain-induced landslide occurred at an apartment building in Okpo-dong, Geoje, leaving a man in his 20s dead and a woman in his 50s with fractured bones.

Another resident was also reported to have sustained minor injuries.

Around 7 a.m. on this day, an evacuation order was issued for some 150 households across two apartment buildings where the landslide damage occurred.

As of 8 a.m., about 115 residents from the area were identified as having evacuated to the cafeteria of nearby Seongji Middle School.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, a record-breaking cumulative rainfall of 805.7 mm pounded Geoje from midnight on the 15th, Liberation Day, through 8 a.m. on this day.

Very heavy rain dumping 50 to 100 mm per hour continued to hit Geoje and Tongyeong on the morning of the 17th, with heavy downpours persisting across various parts of South Gyeongsang Province.

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