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Subscribe to RSSThe AP reports from Seoul:
A blast of heavy rain sent landslides barreling through South Korea's capital and a northern town Wednesday, killing at least 32 people, including 10 college students doing volunteer work.
The students died as mud and debris engulfed them as they slept in a resort cabin in Chuncheon, about 68 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of the capital Seoul, said Byun In-soo of the town's fire station. A married couple and a convenience store owner also died.
About 500 officials and residents worked to rescue people trapped in the mud and wreckage. Twenty-four people were injured and several buildings destroyed, officials said. Witnesses interviewed on television likened the sound of the landslide to a massive explosion or a screaming freight train and described the screaming they heard as buildings were carried away by rivers of mud.
Yonhap via Reuters
People try to climb on top of a car on a flooded road during heavy rainfall in Seoul, South Korea, on July 27. Wild weather has battered the peninsula since late Tuesday, causing widespread flooding.
Yonhap via Reuters
Cars are trapped on a flooded road during heavy rainfall in Seoul on July 27.
Jang Seung-Yoon / AFP - Getty Images
A rescue worker checks a block of flats after a landslide hit the apartment building in southern Seoul on July 27. Torrential rain pounding South Korea triggered landslides that killed 18 people and flooded hundreds of homes, rescuers said.
Jang Seung-Yoon / AFP - Getty Images
A man walks over mud after a landslide hit a street in southern Seoul on July 27.
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Heavy rains triggered landslides and widespread flooding in Seoul and a mountain resort town. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.
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More extreme weather around the world, of course there is nothing that would explain this. ;)
I spent 18 months in Dongducheon, Camp Casey, 2nd Infantry Division, 122nd Signal Battalion in 1982-83. I remember spending all of July on flood alert during the monsoon. Babbling brooks turned into raging torrents of water that would sweep people, livestock, animals, cars, hooches, anything in it's path away downstream. It was very intense, scary, and I can't imagine battling that every year, year after year each monsoon season. The people there had mixed emotions about us being there, but I remember during that time of need, we also put ourselves in danger to help those in trouble and in need. To me, it didn't matter if they wanted us in their country or not, we were there, we helped to save many who were left with absolutely nothing. mostly mountain folk in cardboard shacks tucked back in the hills. Every year they knew it was coming, but yet they would rebuild in the same place that wasn't safe the year before. Reminded me of tornado alley victims here in the States. My heart goes out to those same people, and I still wonder how they feel about us being over there now, almost 30 years later. I do know for a fact, that if we weren't there, the North would not be in the North, and democracy would be a memory in South Korea. No doubt about it. Peace to our asian brothers.