Before daybreak on Tuesday, one of the worst storms South Korea has seen in recent memory began to batter the southern portions of the nation.
By early evening, 4,600 people had fled their houses as a result of Typhoon Hinnamnor, who had also taken the lives of at least three individuals and gone missing eight more.
According to the administration, at least 160 structures were damaged or completely destroyed as a result of floods brought on by the typhoon’s destructive three feet of rain that fell in some areas.
The heaviest impacted areas were those in Jeju, Ulsan, Busan, and Pohang.
The typhoon struck South Korea quickly before moving back out to sea and weakening, allowing most regions to gradually resume normal operations by early Tuesday evening. South Korean authorities had begun to ground flights, ferries, and trains on Monday evening.
It was the second time in a short period of time that South Korea has experienced severe flooding.
At least 14 people died in the most recent storm, and Seoul, the country’s capital, sustained the most damage. South Korea was better prepared for this week’s wallop as a result of footage showing cars being tossed around like toys in the torrents and the estimated $130 million in damages brought on by that storm.
Unfortunately, some of the measures taken to be ready for the storm seemed to do more damage than good.
The management organisation of an apartment complex in Pohang, South Korea, reportedly warned tenants to remove their cars from an underground parking lot, but when some of them attempted to do so, the garage reportedly flooded. By Tuesday night, six people were still missing and one person had been slain.
Pumping the water out of the buried property would take five to six hours, according to rescue personnel.
A total of 59 vehicles, six big volume water pumps, two amphibious tanks, roughly a dozen small inflatable boats, and around 1,300 men from the South Korean Marine Corps were dispatched to help with the rescue and recovery operations.
The effects of Typhoon Hinnamor were also felt in North Korea, which has the world’s most highly guarded border. According to state media, Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, presided over a conference to assess his country’s catastrophe prevention and response mechanisms.
North Korea often unlocks its dams after storms to let out torrents that may inundate South Korea’s north.
The South Korean government has often requested that the North contact it before making any such disclosures, and it reaffirmed that demand on Monday, just before the storm was due to make landfall.
The spokesperson for the South Korean Ministry of Unification, Cho Joong-hoon, said on Monday, “We encourage them to tell us in advance in case of the release.”
It also conveys the wish that the present problem may be resolved amicably between the two Koreas.
Cho said that when his ministry contacted the North Korean office, it answered “without expressing its stance on receiving the warning.”