At least two people were killed and more are missing in heavy downpours in South Korea, officials said, amid heavy rain, flooding and landslides, bringing the death toll to 14 from torrential rains that have lashed the country for a week.
Close to 170mm of rain hit the resort town of Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, 70km east of Seoul, early on Sunday, said disaster authorities, after a landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles during a period of heavy rainfall.
The confirmed number of deaths from the five-day deluge stood at 14, according to official data. Scientists say climate change has made extreme weather events more frequent and intense around the world.
The downpour started on Wednesday, leaving eight people missing mostly in the southern and central parts of the country as of 6am on Sunday, according to official data and a government statement.
The heavy rain, which had earlier lashed the southern parts of South Korea, was affecting the northern parts of the country on Sunday morning, the government said.
A woman in her 70s was killed when her house collapsed in a landslide about 4.40am on Sunday in Gapyeong, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Most of the deaths have occurred in the southern county of Sancheong, which has had nearly 800mm of rain since Wednesday.
South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July and is usually well prepared. But this week its southern regions were hit by especially intense downpours, with some of the heaviest hourly rainfall on record, official weather data showed. The rainfall is likely to stop on Sunday and be followed by a heatwave, the government weather forecaster said.
In 2022, South Korea endured record-breaking rains and flooding that killed at least 11 people.