South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday blamed authorities’ failure to follow disaster response rules after the death toll from torrential rains rose to 40, including a dozen people found killed in an underpass.
The floods have hit the central and southern regions since Thursday, when the rainy season that began in late June reaches its peak. The Interior Ministry also reported nine people missing and 34 injured across the country.
Twelve deaths, including three bodies found overnight, occurred in a tunnel in Cheongju, 110 km south of Seoul, where 16 vehicles, including a bus, were swamped by floodwaters on Saturday after a river embankment collapsed.
The incident raised questions about South Korea’s efforts to prevent and respond to flood damage. Some drivers who use the thoroughfare regularly blamed the government for not banning access to the underpass, even though flooding was widely predicted.
Yoon, who has just returned from a trip abroad, called a disaster response meeting on Monday and admitted that the situation had worsened due to poor management of vulnerable areas.
“We have repeatedly emphasized access control to dangerous areas and preventive evacuation since last year, but if the basic principles of disaster response are not kept in place, it will be difficult to ensure public safety,” Yoon said at the meeting.
Nearly 900 firefighters, police and military personnel took part in the underpass rescue operation, using boats, underwater drones and other equipment, according to the Interior Ministry.
Floods have already killed dozens of people during the last few rainy seasons as weather patterns have become more extreme.
Source: CNN Brasil
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