Geoje Hit by 638mm of Rainfall in Just One Day

Nearly 70% of Summer Rainfall Recorded in a Single Day
Tongyeong Registers 453mm, Sets New Record

Record-breaking torrential rains hit the southern coastal areas of South Gyeongsang Province during the Liberation Day holiday. In Geoje and Tongyeong, rainfall equivalent to what is typical for the entire summer fell within just three days, resulting in widespread casualties and property damage.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on August 18, cumulative precipitation in South Gyeongsang Province from the Liberation Day on August 15 until 5 a.m. on this day totaled 956.1mm in Geoje, 766.9mm in Tongyeong, 430.0mm in Sacheon, and 429.5mm in Goseong, among other locations.

In particular, in Geoje alone, as of 6 p.m. on August 17, 638.9mm of rain fell in a single day—nearly 70% of the area's average summer seasonal rainfall (935.1mm for Geoje, based on the 1991–2020 average). This amount surpassed the previous record high (438.3mm) since monitoring began in 1972. During the same period, Tongyeong also experienced a deluge of 453.7mm, breaking the previous record (340.5mm) since observations started in 1968. Among the 97 national Automated Synoptic Observing System sites where the Korea Meteorological Administration monitors daily precipitation rankings, Geoje recorded the third highest single-day rainfall ever, and Tongyeong the tenth highest.

The heavy rain claimed one life and injured four others. In Okpo-dong, Geoje, a landslide buried an apartment building in mud, killing one resident and injuring two. One person was also injured in each of Tongyeong and Ulsan. There were a total of 2,574 reports of damage, including flooded homes and roads, and fallen trees, with power outages affecting 4,161 households. As of the morning of August 18, power had been restored to 4,026 households, or 97% of affected homes.

Some residents who were temporarily evacuated due to river flooding and road inundation have still not returned home. Across three regions—South Gyeongsang Province, Busan, and Jeju—a total of 318 households, comprising 564 people, evacuated temporarily; among these, 147 households (248 people) have yet to return.

Facility closures remain in place. Access is still restricted to 255 sections of three national parks—Geumjeongsan, Hallyeohaesang, and Jirisan—as well as the entrance to one section of the Tongyeong-Daejeon Expressway, 84 river-side walkways, 142 low-water bridges (Saeweolgyo), 37 riverbed roads, and 28 swimming and coastal areas. Trains, airplanes, and passenger ferries are operating normally.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, an additional 60mm of rain is expected in the southern areas of South Gyeongsang Province and the southern coast of Jeollanam-do by the morning of August 18.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.