[Anchor]

On Sunday, October 18, sudden autumn rain accompanied by gusty winds battered most parts of the country. Flooding was reported in urban areas, including Seoul, as fallen leaves that were not cleared in time clogged drainage systems, worsening the damage.

Noh Yujin reports first.

[Reporter]

Water fills the roads, and fallen leaves drift about everywhere.

Stationary cars are submerged up to their tires, and as vehicles pass by, fierce splashes of water follow in their wake.

[Choi Eun-seo / Eyewitness: I looked out the window, and it was raining so hard I couldn't see right in front of me. Fallen leaves were floating around, parked cars were all flooded, and as buses drove by, the wake made those flooded vehicles shake again....]

A road in Pyeongnae-dong, Gyeonggi Province, saw water overflow onto the adjacent sidewalk due to the heavy downpour.

Fallen leaves floating along the road even washed into a bus stop.

As sewage drains became blocked with leaves and trash in various places, causing water to swell on the roads, some citizens even cleared away the debris with their bare hands.

Heavy rain advisories issued starting around 1:00 PM were lifted in most regions an hour or two later, but road flooding appeared to have worsened as street drains were blocked by autumn leaves and other debris.

In Seoul, as torrential rain poured down during the afternoon, access to the Cheonggyecheon stream walking path was restricted, along with 29 other streams including the Jungnangcheon, Yangjaecheon, Uicheon, and Seongbukcheon streams.

Flood warnings were also issued for Gangbuk-gu, Eunpyeong-gu, and Nowon-gu.

The area around Yeonshinnae Station in Eunpyeong-gu was flooded, and both directions of the underpass road at Jeungsangyo Bridge in Seodaemun-gu were completely closed to traffic.

With rain damage continuing to pour in across the country—such as roads turning into muddy water and manhole covers popping off due to the heavy downpour—reports to 119 exceeded 100 cases.

Outdoor autumn events were also disrupted by the rain accompanied by strong winds.

Rain is expected to continue in parts of the central region until tonight, and in the southern regions until tomorrow morning, and Jeju until tomorrow afternoon, calling for precautions against additional damage.

(Video by: Kim Nam-sung | Video Editing by: Jeon Min-gyu)