Heavy Rains Batter South Korea Leaving At Least 35 People Dead; Some Bodies Recovered From Flooded Tunnel

At least 35 individuals were killed in South Korea following torrential rains that caused massive floods across the country.

A latest report from the BBC said that rescuers area also looking for at least ten individuals who are missing amid the bad weather.

Of the fatalities reported, nine bodies were recovered from the flooded tunnel near the South Korean City of Cheongiu.

Authorities said that heavy rains immediately flooded the tunnel, which later trapped drivers and passengers on board a number of vehicles.

Officials are still determining how many individuals are still trapped in the 685-meter long tunnel as search and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Fortunately, nine survivors have been rescued by authorities.

The report said that most of the other fatalities were in the mountainous North Gyeongsang Region, wherein landslides have swept away the entire residences.

Flooded tunnel

Citing local fire department chief Seo Jeong-Il, a report on CNN said at least 15 vehicles were trapped in the tunnel, including a public bus.

A very large downpour of rain flooded the tunnel when a levee of the nearby Miho River in North Chungcheong province had failed to work.

A levee is a dike or an embankment which is supposed to control the overflowing of the water.

Authorities said that a dashcam footage obtained from one vehicle that successfully passed through the tunnel had showed the water rushing towards the underpass.

Meanwhile, the other cars continue to drive head on into the flood waters.

At least 400 workers and divers were part of the search and rescue operation amid this high level of floods in the tunnel.

On Sunday morning, those part of the rescue teams continued to drain the tunnel of floods as they pumped out 80,000 liters of water per minute.

"We are mobilizing about 30 divers in groups of two in rotation for the search operation. We are trying our best right now, although it is difficult since the site is covered in mud," Seo said in the CNN report.

Evacuation, disruption on travels

An Aljazeera report said that the heavy rainfall had forced authorities to evacuate around 5,570 individuals.

Most of the homes affected were those located near the Goesan Dam in the province of North Chungcheong.

Citing the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the report said more than 4,200 people have remained in evacuation facilities as of Saturday night in order to ensure their safety.

Aside from forced evacuations, the bad weather also affected travels as at least 20 flights had been cancelled.

The operations of regular trains and bullet trains have also been temporarily suspended.

Authorities also closed some 200 roads.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the public should expect more rains up to Wednesday next week, noting that the weather conditions could pose a "grave" danger to residents.

It is common for South Korea to be struck by floods during the summer monsoon period, however, during previous years, the country was well-prepared and the number of deaths was relatively low.

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