SEOUL (ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province was issued heavy rain warning on Wednesday with 100 millimetres of rain per hour inundating the border city of Paju, according to the state weather agency.
By 7 am, torrential downpours of 100.0 mm per hour were reported in Munsan, a town in Paju, located 37 kilometres north of Seoul, as stated by the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The accumulated precipitation recorded 269 mm in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, 148.3 mm in Munsan, and 127 mm in nearby Yeoncheon County as of 7 am.
The KMA sent out emergency text alerts warning of torrential rain in the areas on 10 occasions from 4.24 am to 7.45 am, in what marks the first time this year such a warning was issued in the greater Seoul area.
The alert was also issued across many parts of Seoul, including in Seongbuk District and Jongno District, with heavy rainfall of over 50 mm per hour pounding the areas as of 9.20 am.
The heavy rain alerts are issued when the rainfall exceeds 50 mm per hour or 90 mm in three hours, and in this case the hourly precipitation rate exceeds 72 mm.
Over 200 cases of damage had been reported to firefighters and the police as of 8.30 am, and the roads were off-limits due to the heavy downpour in over 20 regions in northern Gyeonggi Province as of 7.30 am, officials said.
The KMA said 30 to 60 mm of rain is expected to continue pounding northern Gyeonggi Province and the northern part of Gangwon Province in the morning.
Seoul and southern Gyeonggi Province are forecast to receive rainfall of around 30 mm per hour.
